Smirk
by don't take me seriously
Summary: "Why should I hate you for something you did in your past life? After all, you've come to me now- with a new face." Korra begs the spirits for guidance, but must first learn to master her emotions. Amorra. noncon first chapter so...uh...yeah.
1. Muladhara

_**Smirk**_

"_Why should I hate you for something you did in your past life? After all, you've come to me now- with a new face."_

* * *

**a/n:** So I've seen a lot of people who want Amorra noncon, or as I like to call it, Amoncon. Da fuck you sickos? Then I realized I wanted it too, and nobody would write it for me. you guys. Really? So here you go.

**Pairings:** Amorra, implied Makorra, mentionings of Kataang and Pemzin. Pairings subject to change. It mostly correlates with the show. There are also bits of Korrasami, and Korrlok as it goes on.

**Warnings: **non-con. That means sex, guys. So please don't read this story if you are easily triggered? I am not making this to upset anyone, more like to please my fellow Amorrians. Also, the parts without sex are all kinds of creepy, just sayin. Also, Amon, if you turn out not to be the terrifying creeper you come off as, I am so sorry.

* * *

Amon's ghastly hand extended towards her face, and Korra turned away, prepared for the absolute pain and humiliation of having her bending ripped from her. When met instead with an affectionate caress, Korra's body jerked in alarm. He squeezed her cheeks the way you would an animal's to force its mouth open, but Korra kept her teeth clamped. She was not about to make a fool of herself.

"You seem frightened, young Avatar. Didn't you say you weren't afraid to challenge me?"

All Korra could get out was an unconvincing mutter-

"You cheated- you brought _them_-" before Amon let go of her chin and turned to face his followers, their eyes glinting like giant insects in the dark.

"I made no promise to meet you here alone or to follow your stipulations. I merely saw an opportunity and took it. The concept of 'honor' and 'fairness' means nothing to me against a child that refuses to play fair herself."

"You liar! You were afraid to face me-"

"The avatar insists she can face me alone. How precious. If she has not learned from our previous enactment, I will dismiss my equalists. Let her understand her new place in this world."

He raised his hand in a clear sign of dismissal, and after a moment of looking among themselves, the masked equalists darted away like shadows, the ones holding her arms dropping her roughly.

When the last of them had scurried from view like rats and Korra stumbled to her feet, when her eyes met that hideous gaze, she felt like she'd been hit by a Satomobile. Now face-to-face with the monster from her nightmares, she wanted to wake up like she always did, as far from this day and life as she could get. Maybe she was still in the South Pole training…but then, she never would have met Mako, or Bolin-

"Are you prepared to fight me, Avatar?"

"What are you playing at?" Korra growled, teeth still clamped shut.

Amon took a couple of steps backwards, as though giving her a respectful distance.

"You wanted to fight me one-on-one."

Korra tensed.

"My bending-"  
"It will have returned by now. Go ahead. Attack me."

Korra snapped her neck strait and a brought her hand before her face, a flicker of fire appearing within her palm. She turned away from it, almost in shame or disgust, before kicking a block of stone from beneath him. Amon seemed to have the same inhuman reflexes of his followers, because he darted forward before the ground gained the momentum to knock him off balance, and when she blew a jet of flame towards him, he wound around her easily, his eerily precise hands jabbing nerve after nerve in her back and neck. Korra screamed in pain, falling to her knees, but quickly attempted to swing around and kick him. He, of course, had expected her to keep going, and crouched down to her level, catching her foot with one braced hand, and extending the palm of the other, wrapping his hand over her eyes and forehead and squeezing her temples. Korra felt a rush of weakness, her entire body going limp and falling defensively onto its side. Amon was immediately on top of her, that eerie mask within inches of her face, and as she struggled to twist onto her back and push him away, all she could see was ill intent in the shadows behind it, where his eyes glinted maliciously. An unfamiliar voice echoed in her mind. He sounded old and wise, but his advice was impossible for Korra to follow at this moment.

"_You must never show emotion in front of him."_

A sharp pain brought her back to this reality. He had disabled her thrashing arms, and was baring his weight on her knees. He drew back to watch his handiwork- the image of Korra lying like a ragdoll on the cold temple floor, his eyes disdainful as ever. Then he brought that nightmare he called a mask up to her ear.

"_Or he will steal your face." _The old man echoed faintly.

_Who are you? _Korra thought, trying to connect to the voice again, even though she knew in her mind it was just a paper-thin memory. _Are you Avatar Aang? Umm…I know we've never spoken personally, but I heard you were a pretty cool person…ok, a great person, actually, and I know we're the same person and all but it's just that- it would be nice if you could do some sort of Avatar thing and help me? God I'm so not spiritual- What am supposed to do? I'm scared of what he might do to me- to us- help me out, please!_

No answer from the spirits. It was odd, but even though he had just exerted effort, she could not hear Amon's breath, just the menace dripping from the words he spoke next.

"Your name is Korra, correct, Avatar?" he hissed. Korra stared up at him as defiantly she could manage. There was a fear of the unknown reflected in her eyes- it must have been clear to Amon that she had no idea what was happening. "Avatar Korra…do you realize your privileges even now?"

His deadly hand brushed a lock of hair from her eyes, and Korra flinched, her heart beating rapidly.

"Taking your bending away, as well as disfiguring or killing you would make you into a martyr. I'm sure you've already heard the origin of my mask- the reason I hide my face. I would do unto you as was done to me if I could. I'd rip out your eyes with my own hands, carve away your nose, tear those lips from your face so that you could never flash the public that insidious little smile again…wouldn't that be nice…"

His hand brushed across her cheek contemplatively, eyes half-lidded and lips (had they been real) upturned as though this were a highly pleasing moment.

"Get off me," Korra said, her voice wavering in trepidation, and Amon's eyes became slits. Korra was not sure which side of him frightened her more at this point, but all she knew was the smile- it wasn't the damn eyes that did it, it was that painted smirk, as though nothing ever phased him- that was the part of his appearance that haunted her the most in her dreams.

"You are frightened, that is evident, but your words imply that you're too naïve to understand true fear. Many of the equalists are women- women who have seen their husbands and children struck down before them, seen the disfigured bodies of their parents in the street before they were dragged off by _benders_ and forced into prostitution. Perhaps it would do you well to understand the position of an equalist before you lay judgment on them.

"That's not-" her retort was cut off by the untimely entrance of Amon's fingers into her mouth. She choked in surprise, a line of saliva dripping from the corner of her lips. That painted smirk his mask wore seemed to dare her to bite him, and suddenly she felt as though she had to do what he wanted if she had any chance of getting out of this alive. She almost didn't notice his other hand until it was brushing against the pelt tied around her waist, pulling it and her waistband down slowly. Her tongue jerked in protest, but he pushed a third finger into her mouth and all she managed was muffled protest before he brushed his finger against it in a way that made her feel panicked in an entirely different way. It almost felt as though he had kissed her- Korra had kissed two boys before, as anything other than a familial thing. Three if you counted the one where they were little kids, another when she was studying earthbending and snuck off to fool around with a local boy- they were caught and sent home. The third she had fumbled awkwardly with outside the compound where she'd trained in firebending- a brief crush, he turned into a gibbering idiot the next day for reasons unknown. There were usually lips involved, but if Amon was to be believed, he probably didn't have any. Korra suddenly felt repulsed- she tried to remind herself that this was his hand, not his mouth, but that was no less terrifying.

"In a way, I'm doing you a favor, Avatar. If not me, it would have been some brute waiting in the shadows for the bragging right, like that disgusting Tarlok."

_Me? Do this with Tarlok? _

"Oh yes, I know about Tarlok- about your little display of oppressive bending power the other week. It was all over the papers. He must have wanted you for himself- after all, you benders always expect to get the things you want."

"W-what are you talking about-"

Amon's cold hand pulled her pants down as far as they would go with his knees still holding her legs in place. Korra made a frantic noise, and he withdrew his fingers from her mouth. She said nothing, just looked at him in horror, breathing rapidly.

"You seem to have a problem with your loss, Avatar. I am not a complete monster, though I may look the part. I'll give you a chance to refuse. If you will consider the position of the equalists and fight against the bending oppressors, I see no reason to hurt you."

As he spoke, the hand that had been in Korra's mouth slid between her legs. Korra, clamped her mouth shut immediately.

"Come now, you have to choose eventually, or I'll just proceed assuming you said 'yes.'

Korra gulped, but her mouth suddenly felt dry.

"What will the Avatar do? What means more to her- the oppressors she calls her friends and family? Or her pride?

"You can't- I'd never-" Korra broke herself off. His wet forefinger was pressed hard against her entrance and he rubbed it contemplatively against a part of her that made her entire body grow hot.

"Go on, Avatar…say what you want to say."

"Don't do this!" Korra managed to expel, not sure which aspect she was even talking about anymore. Amon scared her- he frightened her so much that she wished he was dead, and Korra had never wished death on anyone before.

"So you'll become an equalist to protect your honor? How unexpected," Amon said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Korra shut her eyes and threw her head back, tears leaking down her cheeks and into her hair.

"I never-"  
"What was that?  
"I'd never join you," Korra hissed through her tears. "So if it means you…if I have to…I am the Avatar- this doesn't mean anything."

The sound of a monkey cackling- screaming, it sounded like, echoed through her ears.

There was a long enough silence for Korra to open her eyes. Amon was looking at her, his gaze no longer threatening, but another entire level of frightening. His fingers creeped back between her franticly squirming legs, prying open the folds of skin that protected her core and pushing a single cold, wet finger in. She tightened around him as her body tensed, and he pushed the rough pad of his forefinger against her inner wall and rubbed it as though searching for something within her flesh. Korra had touched herself there before- hey- what girl hadn't, it felt good- but the last person she'd ever expected to touch her like this was Amon, and she definitely wouldn't have expected it to feel this _good_. Korra hadn't noticed that her mouth had opened until she became aware of how dry her tongue was. He was looking at her face again when she became conscious of her actions, and something about his eyes told him that the smile on his face was nowhere near as awful as the one under his mask. He tilted his head and flicked the now tender and aching flesh. Korra shut her eyes. He chuckled- it was the first time she had heard him laugh, and did nothing to humanize him for her. The way his fingers moved certainly did not feel human- he was almost too knowledgeable of what places to touch- Korra was burning up, her legs twitching futilly.

She tried holding her breath, but it resulted in an unavatarlike whimper when she finally released it. Eventually she settled on taking brief gasps of air every few seconds, which seemed to amuse him even more. After a while of this, she resigned to the fact that it felt good- it really did…maybe if she thought of someone else- maybe Mako- her mind even drifted to him for a bit...what it would be like if they kissed…maybe after an awesome night of probending, when Bolin was off with one of his fangirls…what if he climbed on top of her passionately and explored her body lovingly- it didn't sound much like Mako, to be honest, and the instant she realized this Amon jabbed at her three times in succession and Korra's already open mouth let out an unfamiliar cry. It felt as though she would faint, but it wasn't painful- it was so far from painful that she wasn't even aware of who she was at that moment. Her hands clenched as a gush of liquid seemed to seep out of her along with his fingers. When she became aware of her surroundings again, the situation had changed. Her legs were being dragged so they encircled his waist. She felt something significantly bigger than a finger pressing against her, and didn't want to know what he was about to do. She'd received awkward sex talks before, but there had never been a discussion about sex with someone you hate passionately- they'd always told her to save herself for someone she loved, or at least trusted. Katara had relayed particularly awkward-yet-helpful stories about her sex life with Korra's past life, before Tenzin passed out in sheer embarrassment of thinking of his father or Korra doing such an act. It never seemed like a big deal to Korra- she'd never even met a guy she wanted to experience that with until Mako anyway-

"You keep smiling, Avatar. Are you shameless?"

"That smile wasn't for you!" Korra growled. She shut her mouth and looked past him, to the smoggy night air and sillouhettes of republic city. Yue loomed in full form over the water.

_If I could bloodbend I swear I'd make your dick explode…You filthy equalist scum._

Korra couldn't understand how he'd beaten her. It was clear from the frame behind his protective gear- her legs were held so tightly to his sides that she could still feel his body- his human body- that he was not as muscular as his bulky clothes made him appear. His stature wasn't even all that impressive- nothing next to Bolin, whom she had beat in arm-wrestling contests, and not even as tall as Mako. How had he done this to her? What was this man?

"Right now…you are not even my equal. This is what it feels like to be oppressed- to be truly beneath someone. How does that feel, Avatar?

Korra felt him pushing into her slowly. At first it felt fine, good even, but then it started to hurt, even moreso when he thrust his entire length in without warning. Korra grunted as though the pain were comparable to miscalculating earthbending practice, and turned her head onto its side so she didn't have to look at him.

"Look at me, Avatar."

She did so, reluctantly. He always seemed to know when she was ignoring him, and the last few times had come with repercussions. The first thing she could see from her position of 'legs up, back down' were her own breasts, looming like two mountains in a bizzare blue landscape, and then acres of desert (her skin) and then the patch of dark brown grass in the center- Korra shot her eyes up to his mask so she didn't have to see their bodies intertwined. Then all she saw was Amon- The giant red sun looming over the tiny earth.

"I asked you a question" his voice said casually.

_How does it feel? As if any answer to that question could be right. It feels awful you prick!- it feels…it feels really…_

Her body was being moved, the earth was shaking- no- no, she would break- the feeling of tininess stirred a renewed sense of panic. He was inside of her. He was literally –inside- of her.

Korra tried to thrash and resist, but he matched even her roughest jerks, the pressure of their bodies grinding against each other and his weight on top of her spiking her adrenaline further. It was like he was fighting her- then trying to control her, and then…succeeding? It seemed like her hips had stopped trying to crush him and had started to mimic his movements. She had no idea what she was doing or why she was doing it. Tenzin had once blurted out awkwardly that sex was enjoyable when Korra had teased him about his fourth kid. But Penma and Tenzin loved each other- it seemed shameful that there should be anything enjoyable about what Amon was doing to her.

Korra clamped her mouth shut, her expression a mix of rage and humiliation. Her useless hands above her head filled her with fury. Her own legs seemed to be betraying her. The only thing that seemed to work was her face- unlike his which was frozen and smiling impassively, she was attempting to make the most hateful expression possible, but every time he pushed into her she would feel her own lips twitch, threatening to upturn as though to return that contented smile.

_No. No. You will never have my face. You can take every other part of my body, but my face will be my own-_

"I'm worried that I'm not pleasing the city's beloved Avatar. She's being very quiet."

Korra did the most spiteful thing she could think of- she spit, then focused all of her energy into freezing it solid, aiming for his neck. He twisted away at the last second, but the hands grasping her tensed- she had grazed him, at least. Amon tilted his neck as though a firesquito had just stung him and he yearned to itch it, but his hands remained firmly on her hips, even as a small dark spot blossomed on his hood.

"You made me bleed, Avatar. I suppose I can't be too upset, though- you bled quite a bit as well."

Everything he said made her want to scream, but everything his body was doing made her want to…scream too…in a different way. Korra twisted her torso in a desperate attempt to draw back, the walls of her still-sensitive core spasming around him involuntairily.. Both shut their eyes for the briefest of seconds before continuing the staredown. He stopped fucking her just long enough to lower her legs to the ground and crawl so that they were nose-to-nose, his legs no longer suppressing her, but no longer needing to. He rested his cold porcelain face against her warm brown cheek as he rubbed her now-soaked entrance again. Korra stared at the statue of Aang looming in the darkness.

_This wouldn't have happened to you_, she thought bitterly_. Your friends would have come to your rescue. You wouldn't have had to face something this frightening alone. _

Korra watched Aang's face become blank as slate. She heard herself scream, but it wasn't her voice- it was a boy's, higher in pitch and more unsure than hers.

"_Show no fear. Show no fear," _he chanted nervously.

Since he was no longer holding her hips, Amon's hands started to roam over her body. One of his hands drifted up her shirt, and she gave a desperate gasp. The hand gliding across her stomach stopped for a moment, then both hands pushed her shirt and the band the covered her breasts up to her chin.

"How does it feel, Avatar?" he hissed again, pressing his finger against the nub at the very base of her core as he rocked into her, his other hand rubbing so lightly against her nipple that she thought she might scream again. Korra became aware of just how wet she was right now, and the sound it was making- She was aware of all the sounds she was making, really, because unless he was menacing her, Amon was always completely silent. All she could think of was how embarrassed she would be if Tenzin saw this- if anyone saw this.

Please don't come here, Tenzin…please…just wait until he finishes…

Amon must have sensed her wandering mind again, because he started to jab the same spot in such rapid succession that through the waves of agonizing pleasure, Korra felt the movement returning to her limbs.

"I tire of asking you, Avatar."

"G-good…it feels g-good," Korra whimpered as he prodded her again and again, each time escalading the pleasure she felt immensely. Amon seemed to lose it a bit himself, pushing her against the cold floor and plowing into her mercilessly. She became aware that her hands were now grasping his back in desperation. Everything was bright as moonlight, and she heard a chilling voice echoing in the depths of her mind. More voices came and went, as though her mind was attempting to tune into a radio to the past, but Korra could make little of it.

.

"The spirits Tui and La, which circle each other in an eternal dance…"

"-Be the leaf!"

"Push and pull-

"You need to work on the spiritual side of bending-"

"The Spirits have spoken to me. They have granted me this power."

"_Amon!"_

Korra bucked her hips towards him, throwing her head back so that her neck jutted out vulnerably. There was an intense look in his eyes, a growing roughness in the way his hands groped her.

Amon's last thrust was so calculated that it sent her over the edge. If he made a sound she wouldn't have heard it over her own scream. It was over abruptly- the feeling of him withdrawing, him rising off the ground, implicit zipping sounds and hands gliding over rough fabric, as though he was wiping –her- filth off. Then he looked down. Korra's horrified eyes stared back.

"You're still scared…that's good…perhaps my message has gotten through to you."

Korra couldn't think of a reply. Just when she thought he was done tormenting her, he crouched down over her panting, sweaty body, pulling her pants up and shirt down, as though nothing had happened.

"Let's keep this between us, Avatar."

Amon placed his two fingers over her lips, and Korra shut her eyes when he drew the hand back, a sharp pain hitting her in the neck. She saw his hazy form and heard his voice before everything became black, but it did nothing to console her.

"This isn't over, Avatar. I have a plan…and I'm saving you for last."


	2. Swadhisthana

a/n: Soooo I really didn't expect this to get all these reviews, I was like holy crap haha, and thankfully most of the feedback has been positive, I got a couple oh 'oh god what is this' and some passive aggressive references to 'all this dub-con' in the Amorra fandom (is there really more of it? If so, link me to it, I have no soul already.)

I also have a tumblr, though I am not posting this fic to the tumblr in particular (lest the tumblr community eat me alive), but I -am- uploading illustrations and stuff to go along with it, so you guys should check it out, it's called pandoramorra.

Anyway, what can I say about this chapter? honestly, it's -mostly- a filler that parallels the show, with implications of the previous chapter and some events changed slightly. I would have felt cheap and squicky cutting out that much character development for more smut.

* * *

Tahno's nose almost grazed hers, their locked gazes a direct mirror of Mako and Asami's earlier closeness, where their noses had tickled each other like two coonseals rubbing whiskers in greeting. The effect had been so nauseatingly sweet that Korra actually turned to the side and gagged, and now she wanted to gag again, because Tahno was disgusting, and she hated the eager smile that stretched across his face as he awaited the opportunity to humiliate her in front of all these people.

The room had turned very tense, everyone looking at the two young waterbenders except a man in the corner who was still absorbed in his newspaper.

"Go for it," he all but whispered, but Korra did nothing, just stared at him with a tremulous anger that threatened to boil over in the form of fireballs and ruin their chances at the finals. When it did not, when Korra almost backed away, Tahno opened his sinister lips to speak again, low, oily tone dripping with sarcasm.

"What? The Uhvatar doesn't want to fight me?"  
"Why would I waste my time on scum like you?"

The long hair Tahno kept swept to the side brushed her cheek. He really was whispering now.

"I heard your challenge to that Amon guy on the radio…he seems like some pretty weak scum to me…a nonbending politician who hides behind a mask? Why should fighting someone like that take priority over me?"

A billion emotions betrayed her at once, but Bolin's urgent whispering brought her back to earth long enough to whistle for Naga, the giant polarbeardog's roar sending flecks of spittle into Tahno's immaculate hair. He fell to the floor, obviously surprised, and attempted to regain his grace as Korra and Bolin laughed heartily. He returned to his friends, brushing it off as though Korra was crazy for having a polarbeardog in the first place. It was obvious that Korra hadn't even put a dent in Tahno's dignity, and his attempt to ruin her evening was clearly not over.

"Some people just don't deserve their titles" he whined.

"Some people don't deserve to be benders at all," Korra growled to Bolin, who poked his fingers together nervously.

"We can go somewhere else if you'd like?" Bolin whispered with concern, but Korra stood her ground.

"You like it here, right Bolin? I'm not going to let him ruin it for you."

"But seriously, what is up with that?" a the bob-haired wench wrapped around Tahno's arm shrieked.

"You mean his hair? I'd like to know too," Korra whispered to Bolin, who grabbed his gut to stifle his laughter.

Eventually Bolin and Korra won the battle, and the group Korra internally refered to as 'Tahno and the Tahoes' stood.

"Well, Uhvatar?"

Every time he said Avatar, it sounded like he was choking on the phlegm in the back of his throat.

"Haven't you tormented me enough?" Korra groaned as he sauntered over flamboyantly.

"I was serious about those lessons," he drawled, putting his hands on the back of her chair. "We can arrange a time if you'd like."

"Like I don't know what guys like you really mean when they say that shit-"

"Really? You seemed pretty naïve to me in all those interviews."  
Korra bit her tongue and twisted around to look at him. She wondered if Tahno really was as sinister as he sounded, or if she was still paranoid.

"Why don't you take your assumptions and your skanks and go somewhere else with them?"

Tahno was not to be deterred.

"So is that a yes to my invitation?"

"The only place I'm meeting you is the probending finals."

Korra spared another glance at Tahno. He looked intrigued for a moment, before he smiled complacently.

"Very well, Uhvatar. Perhaps we will have a date –after- I completely wipe the floor with your team-"  
"-That'll happen when hell freezes over."

Tahno had no retort for her this time- he was ducking out the door with his posse, and Korra was busy charring a napkin to death in her fist, much to Bolin's amusement and slight apprehension.

* * *

Laughter rang out across the beaches of Air Temple island, as Bolin accompanied Korra on her walk back to the sleeping quarters. When their laughter had all been spent and they were reduced to occasional snickering, Bolin looked at Korra seriously- so seriously that she turned her head to the side and gazed out at the water, towards Avatar Aang's statue looming over the bay.

"Are you OK, Korra?"

_Look at him._

Korra and Bolin's eyes met in a mash of seagreen and teal, and she bit her lip, the resoluteness in her gaze crumbling. The water glimmered in the bay around Airtemple Island, and Bolin thought she looked oddly delicate right then, in a way that didn't suit her.

"I've been off for a while, I'm sorry. But I think I'll be ok soon. I feel better now."

"Why?"  
"Because I'm with you, I guess," she said, and she turned away just in time to miss Bolin's face light up like republic city on a probending night. "But I still don't feel safe. Not really."

Bolin kicked around a pebble, bending it back towards him when it got too far away. He tried to focus on this rather than Korra's words, but was rather unsuccessful.

"I wish I could make you feel safe," he whispered. "But you're so much stronger than me. I feel scared a lot too. I still get nightmares, you know…about what happened before you saved me."

Their gazes were imbued with a horrible understanding of the fear the other felt, the moment finally broken by Bolin's stammered 'Good Night.' They were outside of the temple.

Korra threw her arms around him suddenly, as though afraid he would be gone if she didn't hold him, and Bolin's face flushed with surprise and pleasure. It was easy to see how they tormented each other in this moment, because Korra's mind was on a completely different planet than Bolin's, which was already shooting off towards the stars.

"We'll protect each other, ok, Bolin?" she whispered, and Bolin nodded eagerly, a lovesick expression washing over his rounded features.

"Of course we will."

"You and me and Mako."

That was the part that pained Bolin, so for now he pushed the last part aside, so that the familial implication would disappear and he could live in a world where Korra would accept his feelings without remorse and they could protect each other.

You and me.

_You and me._

_And Mako_ his mind nagged.

* * *

"Pema…can I ask you awkward sex questions again?"

The sunshine-clad woman hummed as she delicately stirred soup, puffing her cheeks out to blow on the bubbling liquid.

"Of course, Korra, what else am I here for?"

"A lot of stuff, I guess," said Korra awkwardly, leaning against the doorway. "You're an awesome friend, and mother, and you make Tenzin smile, that's pretty awesome-"

"Do go on," Pema laughed, flicking the stirring spoon above the soup before setting it aside.

"I'm just… confused…right now."

"Is it about your firebender crush?"

"Not this time…well…maybe…I mean…Pema…why don't nice guys turn me on?

Pema took the bluntness like a champ, Korra had to admit. And she seemed to put legitimate thought into coming up with a response, too, which was why Korra awaited her answer with fervent anticipation.

"Who or what turns you on doesn't always follow logic, I suppose," Pema said with a shrug. "Ideally a girl should want a guy who treats her nice, but just because a guy is nice doesn't mean you'd want to sleep with him. There are so many other facets to what makes someone attractive to a person."

"What if you absolutely detest someone? I mean, like, hate them? Is there a reason that person would turn you on?"

There was a strange silence.

"Well, of course, you don't always have to be in love with someone to enjoy sex…sex is both a spiritual and physical thing…but I've always found the pleasurable part to be more spiritual…are you OK, Korra-"

"I'm fine. I just want to know if you can enjoy sex with someone you don't feel a spiritual connection with. Hypothetically, say you were enemies."

"Why would you enjoy sex without a spiritual connection? That's a tough one. But I suppose, if you're speaking hypothetically…even enemies are connected spiritually, in some manner…but that's a really weird thing to wonder, Korra," she said, sounding concerned.

"Haha, yeah, I know."

"Is there a reason why?"

"I don't know. Just starting to notice…boys…and stuff" Korra explained awkwardly. "I don't understand sex, and everyone acts like it's a big deal, and that you should be sleeping around with people, even if you don't like them or care about them."

"In airbending culture the act of intercourse was sacred…but of course, things have changed in this day and time…perhaps it's for the better, though. Sex without 'love' and our typical concept of morality is easier, because it's guilt-free. I suppose that's why the city has such a prostitution problem," Pema pondered.

"I've…heard that," Korra said under her breath.

"You have? From who?"

"Nobody," Korra said dismissively, sliding down from the counter and throwing her hands behind her neck.

"Korra?"

Korra turned towards her from the doorway, looking a little reluctant.

"If you need to talk about anything…I'm always here."

* * *

_What kind of game are you playing?_

_Pro-bending, what game do you think I'm playing?_

"I do like you-"

Korra's eyes lifted heavily, the exertion of crushing her lips to Mako's coming out in a small breath. The sound of something as familiar as breathing seemed to jerk him back to a cruel reality and he pulled away, cheeks stained a brilliant scarlet. There was a whimpering sound, and both firebenders turned to see their third teammate holding a shedding bouquet of flowers before tossing it into the air like a humiliated bride.

"Bolin- no- wait-"

* * *

Waterlogged, Mako had admitted defeat to himself already. He crawled out of the arena moat and rose to face Bolin, who had been knocked in shortly before him.

"I really screwed up this time, bro," he said, spitting out a mouthful of water, and Bolin shook his head.

"We both did," Bolin said sadly.

They looked up at the crowd as the lift started.

"Are the fireferrets out for the count? But- no! It looks like Korra is holding her own- this is incredible, folks-"  
Now eye level with the arena, he saw her. A snake of water wound around Korra defensively, extending outwards and enveloping the enemy team's attacks- then knocking them back entirely, over the edge and leaving Korra the only bender standing amongst a sea of cheering faces.

Wide blue eyes searched for her teammates, and she was rewarded with Bolin's ecstatic smile; Mako's quiet look of shock and awe.

Even under all the padding and sweat, Korra looked beautiful. It pissed Mako off a bit, to be frank, because she was smirking at him with all that innocence and spunk, like she had absolutely no idea just how much she tormented every guy who laid eyes on her, his precious brother inccluded. But he smiled back, and her toothy grin became huge and awkward and sweet, and Mako felt like a stick of butter on the sidewalk for a good minute until Asami threw her arms around him and he remembered that he had a perfect relationship with a perfect girl, and that pursuing Korra was a mistake on every level.

But when the three of them reunited in the locker room, the sadness and confusion of the week's events melted away, and Mako knew he could put his feelings aside as long as it took to get them through the tournament.

"Can you guys forgive me?" Korra whispered.

"I don't know, uh, maybe, uh, -YES-" Bolin belted out, crushing the three of them together in a bear hug. They were joined by Asami, whom Korra was actually nice to for a good measure, before they could no longer excuse themselves.

"A night on the town, in honor of Korra?" Asami suggested.

"Oh…I don't know…I don't really-"

"Scuse me, kids, gotta get this one to the hospital," a medical assistant grunted, pushing between Korra and Asami with a large stretcher. The other semifinalist match had ended in the first round- Tahno's team had won.

Eugh.

They'd done more than won, from the looks of it- they'd completely crushed their opponents- at least, a few of their bones looked crushed, and one was missing half of his teeth.

"Does anyone smell that?" came a snobbish drawl. Mako looked up as Tahno rounded the corner like a strutting bird of Paradise. "Oh…the scent of losers," he sneered, and Bolin had to hold Korra back with a surprising amount of difficulty for a man his size.

"Changed your mind about our date yet, Uhvatar?" Tahno said lowly, batting those feminine eyelashes with a twisted smile, before Mako stepped between them defensively.

"Jesus, Korra, is there anyone who –doesn't- want to fuck you? Even Asami Sato's plaything-"

He barely managed to dodge Mako's punch, but he did with a surprising amount of grace.

"Slither back to the swamp you came from," Mako growled.

"You're lucky I care more about my looks than an easy win…I would have had you disqualified…not that you were qualified to begin with-"

"Enough, Tahno! Leave them alone or I'll have _you_ disqualified for provoking them!" Asami hissed, and everyone turned to look at her in surprise. Tahno threw up his hands in a mocking gesture of defeat.

"Of course, Sato. Anything you say. But don't think it's because you scare me or anything…your daddy's money may provide you all those shady self-defense lessons, but in the face of a bender, you're still nothing."

Asami looked shocked, and Korra thought her eyes looked a bit watery, but she composed herself well. Tahno was gone by the time Korra looked away. Bolin had his hand on Mako's arm and was frantically trying to calm his brother down. When his heatrbeat dulled and his pulse was no longer burning, his eyes looked for Korra's, and he found them locked on Asami's back and searching.


	3. Manipura

Ho ho hoes

What's up

here's a chapter.

There's some Amoncon going on up in this chapter, but if you've read this far I'm guessing it wasn't for the unique plot and engaging dialogue.

Though some of you said you appreciated that, which was nice. I mean, I have to write fairly well, otherwise I don't get off, man, ok, bad grammar is not sexy! Also, thanks to everyone who put nice stuff in my ask on tumblr. You're all so nice! And a bit creepy sometimes, but I suppose I brought that on myself when I wrote this fic

haha oh man.

* * *

A girl tossed her head wildly, her expression growing angry to the point of near-rabidness. Her face was disturbing- she was doll-like in her beauty , the very image of 'pure' fire nation lineage that was prized 100 years ago, but she was so uncontrolled and angry that Korra thought she just might break through the heavy restraints that bound her if she thrashed hard enough- the cruelness was carved into her features like a knife.

"Traitor," she suddenly giggled, and Korra wanted to tell her she'd never met her before in her life and get the hell out of this weird little cell, but the girl standing just behind her stepped forward and spoke in a wavering voice. In Korra's window of vision she could see the braid twisted into a loop on the crown of her head. Her face was painted a porcelain white with hawklike eyebrows and ruby red lips, but the features under the makeup were youthfully pretty, the same age as the young woman in the straitjacket.

"We're doing this to help you, Azula."

"You were my only friends!" Azula screeched, sobbing wildly. "You and that slut who ran off with my brother! I trusted you!"

"You did not trust us," she said quietly, but Azula obviously couldn't hear her over her own uncontrolled shrieks.

"We'll have to tranquilize her again," said a guard. The painted girl's eyes were practically shaking in shock, and she put her hands on either side of her head, trying to block out the deranged noises of her former friend. Korra extended her hand towards her- it seemed natural. Her hand was enormous- awkwardly large, even, and swathed in those sunshine and citrus colors of an airtemple monk.

Azula roared, and blue flames shot from her mouth and singed her dank, unwashed hair.

"Make an exception for her, please," the girl begged, tears oozing from her eyes and drawing rivers of black across the white surface of her face.

"I'm not sure I even can, Ty Lee. I was in the avatar state before, and I cannot endanger everyone here by triggering it."

What was he talking about?

"There's another way, isn't there?"

Korra felt her eyebrows furrow.

"what do you mean?'

"The light chakra."

Silence.

"The chi paths and chakra paths intersect in crucial points on the body. The light chakra- the path of truth, is blocked by illusion." Ty Lee's girlish voice was distorted by a jolt of electricity in her body. She was looking at a girl- a watertribe girl- she was very young and beautiful, and her wide blue eyes were dripping tears onto Korra's- no, Aang's face.

"Katara-" he whispered.

Katara?

_You look so young… _

"I thought I'd lost you. "

Korra was jolted to another moment of another reality, momentarily aware of the shooting pain in her body. Someone was dragging her. She saw him through her own eyes this time, swathed in a skintight equalist uniform, with a drooping mustache like a skinny little dragon.

"No," Korra mumbled, but the youthful boy's voice shouted for Katara again, pleading, echoing.

"Don't," the other Avatar said gently. The beautiful watertribe girl's features were flushed with rage and- humiliation? Why was she so embarrassed? She was not looking at Korra, though- A ruggedly handsome boy with strawlike hair struggled against a prison of ice and tree bark, and Korra realized that Katara was the one who had restrained him. The world was a beautiful orange color- an autumn forest, something Korra had never witnessed in her life. The boy had this haughty look on his face- this _crazy_ look- his tiny pupils and uncanny charisma reminded her immediately of Tahno, right before he lost it at the match-

Tahno.

The match.

Shit, _Tahno-_

Those white flashes and events were flashing by, too quickly for Korra to even process, memories that weren't hers, people she had only seen in drawings and statues...that sharp-chinned woman with the glazed over eyes- Lin's mother Toph. Korra couldn't hear what she was saying, but she looked upset. A man whose features reminded her of a hawk- his eyes were familiar, but she couldn't place a name on him. The next was the chiseled watertribesman, Sokka, who looked even more creased and aged than before. The last was…her again…Avater Aang-

"Aang!" the world seemed to echo, escalading to a high pitched shouting an ending in a splitting headache and an unfortunate, dark reality.

"Korra!" someone else whispered into her ear.

Who was she? Aang or Korra?

Why couldn't she move?

Her eyes shot open- she was on an island- no, the platform under the arena. The deep, unsettling voice of Amon echoed in her ears.

"Oh no."

"How are we going to get out of here?" Mako groaned. The equalists had tied them so tightly together that they weren't even bothering to watch them anymore. Korra could hardly breathe with these ropes digging into her ribs, but the next thing she knew, Bolin's uniformed companion was paddling towards them and twittering happily.

"Pabu!" Bolin squealed, and immediately started chattering to the creature, much to Korra and Mako's chagrin.

"No, seriously guys, give me a chance!"

Pabu chewed through the ropes, hesitating only for the awful explosion above and the shaking platform but continuing when urged by Bolin. The second she felt the ropes slacken, Korra allowed herself five seconds of recovery before she exhaled, rolled to the side and froze the ice of the moat just enough to make a path for herself.

"Be careful Korra!" Mako shouted as Korra slid out into the water and looked up at the slowly lifting equalists.

Amon.

Amon was up there.

Korra twisted a geyser of water around her and propelled herself upwards, closer and closer to the retreating terrorists. Amon was within her vision- he was looking directly at her, his mask's peaceful smile mocking her again- She wasn't going to make it. The effort of propelling herself upwards became too strenuous to continue, and the momentary relief of inertia became a wrenching panic in the face of gravity. Korra looked upwards desperately, her eyes connected with the only tangible face, the last person she would ever see before she died. He smiled back.

"Korra! Came a harsh voice, and from her peripheral vision there was a miraculous hand reaching for her- Lin Bei Fong's hand. Korra grabbed onto this gift from the spirits and Bei Fong retracted her line and propelled her upwards - this must be what airbending felt like, she decided- the rush of adrenaline, the feeling of weightlessness and sudden confidence- the sheer force of Korra's propulsion knocked the first equalist from his grapple and he fell backwards a few feet onto the thick glass roof of the arena. Clinging to the force of Lin's toss, Korra swung her platform in a strong arc around the others, crashing the equalists they carried together like a misguided pendulum. Amon was already safe in the damn blimp, and Korra blasted a fireball into the zeppelin, knocking back the two equalists who made it past her aside. Amon, illuminated by fire and still looking down at her, took a step back into the depths of the aircraft, melting into the darkness.

Korra, raging with adrenaline, shimmied up the wire and pulled herself onto the platform of the aircraft. Crouching in the dark, she sprung to her feet defensively, looking for Amon or the equalists with her hands braced for battle.

"Korra!"

A distant cry. She turned looked down through the entrance to the platform, down to the rapidly vanishing arena, the glass roof glowing in the night. The Chief stood there, slowly shrinking smaller and smaller, hand extended towards the night sky- towards her. Korra was starting to see the true scale of the city and its thousands of radiant lights, and felt ill. She'd never imagined getting this far- it had seemed like a necessity to get here, to get Amon, but there hadn't been an 'end' in sight.

"Beautiful view isn't it?" came a sudden low rasp, an accompanying pair of hands bracing her arms almost protectively. Korra felt that if she moved, if he let go, she would fall into the city below, so she stood in shock, watching a tiny Lin defend herself against a tiny Lieutenant below.

"Let go," Korra demanded hollowly.  
"Let you die? That would ruin my plans, Avatar. No…I'm going to keep you alive as long as I can."  
"You're sick."

"Perhaps. Would you reject me on the basis of my mind's illness?"  
"I'd reject you because you're a disgusting hypocrite. Tahno was a bully, but terrorizing a bully doesn't make you righteous. He cheated at a professional sport? You- _you_….you had a teenaged girl ambushed when she assumed you'd be alone, and then…"

Korra couldn't even bring herself to say it.

"You think I'm terrible, don't you?" he whispered. "I frighten you, because I have a power over you- for once in your life someone makes you feel threatened and helpless, and you resent it. You are beginning to understand the weakness my followers have felt in the face of people like you."

"You don't care about your followers," she hissed back at him. "All you care about is abusing your power. You're leaving your number two down there to die-

Korra was yanked back suddenly into the room, the skylight vanishing, throwing the world into shadow, and was spun around to face him.

"You assume wrong, Avatar. I am going back for my Lieutenant, as well as his fellow equalists. First I will allow them the chance to kill that corrupt official-"  
"Lin is not corrupt!" Korra sputtered, and Amon continued as though he didn't hear her;

"Then I will direct the crew to return you to the arena- for now they will circle and wait. Keeping you with me does me no good at this phase of my operation."

That mask's expression looked oddly affectionate in this light, or was it his eyes? Either way, he scared the shit out of her.

"Though I'm surprised…you've made no effort to attack me this time. I was worried you hadn't learned your lesson. Although, you shouldn't have followed me here, that was a mistake."

His right hand let go of her arm and pushed her chin upwards, revealing the protective padding covering her neck.

"What were you even thinking, following me up here, Avatar?" His hand traveled up her throat and grazed briefly over her lips, moving across to brush her cheek and push a lock of hair out of her face.

"I was thinking I'd defeat you," she said resentfully.

"Defeat me, when you couldn't beat that scum I destroyed in seconds? We've already had our duel."  
Korra's lungs contracted in realization that he was right. He brought his mask close to her face, closer and closer, withdrawing his hand from her cheek and winding it around Korra to pull her body flush against his. Korra refused to back away, to show this man any fear, but she couldn't help but shudder when the tip of his mask touched her nose.

"Perhaps you were hopeful that the events of our last meeting would repeat..."  
"No-" Korra whispered. His 'nose' slid across her cheek as he tilted his head- it looked like he might kiss her, but that was absurd, he didn't have a mouth-

"I don't have time to strip all that padding off of you," he said lowly, but even as he spoke, the hand still on her arm started to slide under the armor on her chest. Korra inhaled sharply and his ceramic lips brushed against hers. She pulled them tight, not sure what to expect- he couldn't stick his tongue in her mouth, but it felt obtrusive nonetheless- his mask was his face, its limitations didn't make his 'kiss' any less real to her.

Amon squeezed her breast roughly and his other hand pushed the padding covering her backside up. Her uniform was thick, but his hands were strong enough to be felt through the flame-retardant fabric. Her entire body started tingling with apprehension, and her tongue pushed feebly against the solid contour of his lips, but it was as futile as a bug crashing into a lightbulb- the cold ceramic would not yield until he pulled back.

"You look disappointed."

Korra's expression was now flushed with embarrassment, her eyes not focused on his. For some reason, the thought of him violating her again didn't sound so bad.

_What am I thinking? No!-_

"Why" was all she could muster, unconsciously squeezing her legs together as his fingers pushed between them. "I know you want to frighten me, I know you want to break me…why like this?"

His forefinger had successfully forced its way between her legs, and Korra subconsciously assured herself that she was wriggling to get away from him, not because he was rubbing circles against her suddenly swollen entrance through the rough fabric of her probending uniform.

"Do you really want to know, Korra?"

Dear Yue in heaven when he said her name she felt like her stomach dropped ten feet. Simultaneously both roaming hands found the most tender parts of the flesh he was defiling through her clothing and pushed hard against them. Korra let go of the air she'd been holding in, as well as a strange little whimper that caused his bright eyes to widen momentarily behind their bone-white prison. She wondered what his expression looked like- what his face looked like, but most of all she wanted to know why he was doing this to her, and so she muttered a low "yes," and waited for his response.

"Because it's something we will both grow to enjoy equally. It's a matter of convenience and ease to carry out. I gain nothing from causing people physical pain. I fight to protect and disable, not annihilate. It would do you good to understand one thing about me, Avatar- I always think ahead. On that note, we are getting close to the part where drop you off and pick up my comrades."

Amon's hands slipped from between her legs and around her breast to quickly grab both of her wrists and push her forward. Korra felt wobbly and uneasy, like her legs were made of firejelly and she wanted nothing more than to go home and take a piss and retire for the night and pretend this hadn't just happened. Now in front of the platform opening again, the roof of the arena was in view once more. The chief and the lieutenant were still fighting, but within earshot now, and Amon pushed Korra towards the exit. She could see the probending arena, now only a hundred feet or so below, but still a deadly fall.

"We'll continue this another time, preferably on my terms. I'm rather tired of you demanding my attention under such stressful circumstances, but you are young, after all, Avatar, so I forgive you this time. Chief Bei Fong!" The last sentence was said loudly, enough to cause both fighters to stop in their tracks. Lin looked at them and her face contorted in Horror. Korra was supported only by Amon's hands on her wrists and her own feet braced against the floor- the rest of her hovered helplessly in the air.

"Catch," Amon said carelessly, and Korra was released into the night sky.


	4. Anahata

AN: There is some Korrasami and Makkorra in this chapter. You have been warned. Got a problem with the lezzies? don't read. It has a purpose, as you'll see.

* * *

_This is it?_

_Amon wouldn't just let me die…_

_He said he wouldn't…_

_He said he was saving me for last…_

This time when Korra looked up, Amon was not there. He had retreated into the darkness of the zeppelin and left her falling. For some reason, his absence was not comforting- the opposite, in fact.

The aircraft was growing smaller, and the force of gravity weighed heavy on the Avatar's body.

Korra was going to die.

"Grab my hand!"

Or not.

His calculations were as accurate as always. Just as things were looking dire for the Avatar, Lin swooped in and snatched her from her deadly decline, Korra clinging to the older woman for dear life. They crashed into the stands, near where Mako and Bolin now stood nervously. Both brothers immediately crushed Korra in their arms, and Korra allowed herself to melt into the momentary comfort of the embrace of her two dearest friends. Their grip was so caring it almost hurt. Why did she feel so sad?

As shards of the glass ceiling crumbled into the water below and waterbending officials (how nice of Tarrlok to show up after everything went to shit) extinguished the fires, the three of them sat like that. Korra spared a glance at Bolin's face- he was crying silently.

"What are we going to do now?" he murmured.

Korra was too emotionally and physically drained to respond. She wanted to say they could stay with her on Air-temple island, but she was just too beat to make that kind of commitment. She'd come back tomorrow, perhaps, when she had Tenzin's permission- there he was now, striding towards them with great theatrical appeal, probably due to the fact that Tenzin always airbended unintentionally when he was upset, and it always whipped his loose, vibrant garments around dramatically.

"Korra," he said, helping her to her feet. "Korra, are you OK?"  
"He got away again," Korra said with emotionless disappointment. Lin was leading the brothers off towards the undamaged part of the building where they slept.

"That's not the point, Korra, are you ok?"

Korra looked at Tenzin. Really looked at him.

"He didn't take my bending away-"  
"That's not what I mean, Korra. I don't want to know if the Avatar is ok. I want to know if _you're_ ok."

* * *

Mako and Bolin lay in their beds.

"This is it for us, huh bro."  
"I guess it is," Mako said quietly.

"I wonder what Korra's doing right now," Bolin said, and he listened as Mako turned over on his bed, letting out an exaggerated sigh.

"Not like that! I'm worried about her! As a friend. It's not like you're dating her anyway," Bolin said in annoyance.

"Just drop it, Bo."

There was an extended silence- nothing but the white-noise of snowfall tapping very quietly against their window. It would be cold on the streets tomorrow night.

"You're right," the earthbender said after much sulking. "What's more important is us sticking together."

"You're right though," Mako said, catching his younger brother off guard. "I wonder what she's doing."

"Cut that out, Mako! You have a girlfriend!"

"Yeah. Yeah, I know," Mako whispered.

* * *

"That's it. That's what happened the night I challenged him," Korra finished dully, with a small shrug of her toned brown shoulders.

Tenzin's face was an unfortunate red color. She thought that if he held himself in anymore, he might explode into bitter white remnants like the insides of the radish he resembled.

"K-Korra, I-"  
"It's OK, Tenzin, really it is-"

"How is any part of that OK? When Pema told me she was worried, I- I had no idea-"

"Please, Tenzin," Korra said, her expression begging. "Don't be upset-"  
"I'm not upset with _you_, Korra, I'm upset with the monster that hurt you-"

"Don't be upset at all!" Korra said loudly, and the red faded from Tenzin's face until it was back to normal- wait, no, now it was phantom white…

"Tenzin. I can handle this."

"He's some sort of monster…I can't believe- you- you most certainly are not handling this, Korra! This is a job to be done by adults-"  
"Adults? Are you going to tell everyone?"  
"Of course not! What I'm saying is, stay away from that man at all costs-"  
"Don't tell me what to do! I'm the Avatar, I've got to deal with it-"  
"This is not something anyone should have to deal with-"

"Yeah, well, it sounds like _you're_ the one having a hard time with it!" Korra said loudly, and Tenzin was silenced. Permanently, it seemed, as he looked away and didn't even twitch his lips to attempt speech. Korra immediately wished she hadn't said it. She was already beginning to regret saying anything in the first place.

"I'll go to bed now," she said quietly.

"Korra-" Tenzin started, but the door was shut, moonlight leaking in to the study and casting strange

shadows on his face.

Trekking across the snow-laden landscape, Korra threw open the door to the women's lodging, her feet whispering down the hall, lightly sculpted frame standing in the doorway of her room. Her shadow was frightening- it reminded her of _him_-every night she dreamt of _him_- dreamt of the forbidden longing he had unwillingly stirred within her, and he'd done it again, he'd touched her with those horrible hands that made her feel all the wrong things.

What was it she wanted? She wanted him dead- she knew that much. But she wanted more- to rip the mask from his face and kiss the lips he kept hidden- were they smooth and cool, shielded from years of sun? Rough like his voice, his hands? Twisted and scarred like his mind, like the story he'd concocted for his followers?

It hurt. It hurt too much. Korra flopped uselessly onto her bed, as though chi-blocked in the heart, wanting nothing more than to never wake up.

* * *

"I'm innocent I'm telling you, INNOCENT!"

Lau Gan-Lan flailed his arms like windmills, hitting an irritated policeman in the mouth before he was restrained with metal cuffs.

"Those things were planted on my property! I've never seen them before in my life!" he insisted.

"We'll see about that," Chief Lin Beifong said sternly, gesturing to her taskforce to take him away. Reporters snapped pictures in hopes that they'd get a good one- she was still an attractive face of authority, even at her age, but not very photogenic- every picture that developed showed her barking at someone or scowling at a reporter, the flashbulb's light glinting off the scars on her face.

The chief retreated into the station huffily, tiring of the sheer idiocy of Republic city's paparazzi. She almost didn't notice the tall, dark man standing in the shadows until she did a double-take. Her first reaction was seriously to earthbend him into a wall. The smug expression on his face reminded her of a fat crocodile sitting on the shore by a river.

"What do you want, Councilman, I'm very busy" she said callously, trying to walk past him. He raised his hand as though to call her back. She humored him for that instant, and immediately wished she hadn't.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on the job well done…Lau Gan-Lan…who would have guessed that old kook was in the ranks with Amon…"

"You're not here to congratulate me any more than I'm here to go penguin sledding, Councilman Tarrlok. I heard your speech on the radio. I know you're after my position-"  
"What if it's not your position I'm after?" Tarrlok responded saccharinly, doing one of his stupid little bows.

"What else could you possibly be after," Beifong barked.

"Just the company of a very charming lady, perhaps Tuesday night at five-"

Beifong was much shorter than Tarrlok, but she stood on her toes to glare into his eyes with all the ferocity she could muster.  
"I'm booked," she said impatiently. "So cut the charade. I know what you are, Tarrlok- you are a liar, a schemer- a snake hiding in the shallows. You never make a single move to help anyone unless it benefits you personally. You see a lonely old woman and think you can con her into being your puppet. Don't forget- I inherited my mother's interrogation ability-"  
"So you can detect lies…why then, did you allow the task-force to drag away an innocent man…"

Lin's face looked luminous, or perhaps it was just the sunlight reflected on her skin as the blood slowly drained away.

"Innocent?" she whispered. "What kind of game are you playing-"

"The same game you're playing, Lin. I just happen to be slightly better at it than you."

Silence. Lin was grinding her teeth together. Tarrlok moved to brush a strand of hair from her brow. She did not flinch or back down.

"Ten years is hardly a monumental difference when you reach our age, Lin."

"Stop changing the subject! If that man is innocent he will be freed as soon as he is proven-"

"I'd keep him locked up if I were you. Reflects better on you as a person."  
"You are absolutely disgusting," Lin concluded. "Why don't you take me out, Councilman. Buy me a nice dinner. You're right. I'm a lonely old hag who's desperate to redeem herself, but at least I'm not a sick bastard who toys with prey out of his league."

Lin felt a splitting pain in her head. Tarrlok looked livid for a moment, before that nasty reptilian smile crept across his face again.

"You don't even know what my league is, Lin, dear. So Tuesday at five it is? I'll have someone pick you up at four thirty, just to be sure."

"YOU-"

He turned away, coattails billowing behind him, leaving Lin Beifong to wonder how exactly she had been conned into going to dinner with Councilman Tarrlok.

* * *

"Sorry Korra, we're sorta-"  
"-Already staying with Asami in her awesome lavish mansion!" Bolin belted excitedly.

Korra's lip quivered. She had been weak to begin with, but now forced herself into a casual stance, as if the pain in her heart wasn't already agonizing enough.

Mako noticed.

"I'm really sorry, Korra…look, why don't you come visit later? Asami really wants to be your friend-"  
"He's right, you know," a tellingly 'cool' voice responded, as Asami clambered down the ladder into the quickly emptying room. "We should hang out more. Have girl time. I don't have many friends my age, people tend to think I'm a stuck up priss."

_Probably cause you are,_ Korra thought, crossing her arms with her typical pout, but when she caught Asami's eyes, she remembered the girl's Tahno-induced breakdown last week.

"Oh, all right," Korra said, and Bolin cheered and knocked something over, causing Pabu to scamper wildly and hide between Naga's legs. "What do you have planned?"

"Oh, it's a surprise," Asami said cheerfully.

"Probably makeovers," Korra said under her breath.

"Oh! Makeovers! Fun!" Bolin shouted.

"Bo! Lay off the caffeinated tea!" Mako hissed, picking up yet another thing his clumsy brother dropped and placing it in a box carefully. Korra and Asami giggled, then looked away from each other in embarrassment upon catching the mirrored action.

"Well, that's later. I have some stuff to do beforehand," Korra said in her best 'deep, authoritative' voice, which sounded more like she had something caught in her throat.

"Like what?" Bolin whined.

"Like talking to Lin about the fight at the arena. She wanted to question some of us," Korra said noncommittally.

"I mean, it's pretty obvious what happened, isn't it? There's nothing more that really needs to be said," Mako said with a half-frown, and Korra looked out the window at the snow-speckled city and its bustling crowds.

"Yeah," she seemed to agree, without meaning it at all. "It's pretty obvious…"

* * *

"Remember, Korra, you only need to tell her what's necessary to aid in catching Amon.'

"I don't think anything he said to me would help, to be honest," Korra said with a shrug.

She was being insensitive, and she knew it, but so was he, and so it was with awkwardness that Tenzin bowed and did a double-take to make sure the scowling Korra was 'ok' as she entered Lin's office.

Yes, Amon had frightened her before, and yes, what he had done (everything he had done) was certainly not ok, but Korra was starting to second-guess her fear of him anyway, and Tenzin's insistence that she be upset and let someone else deal with him was not helping. She was tired of grieving over whatever non-existent innocence he'd stolen from her. The seeds of counterphobia had been planted. Korra would fight Amon again, Tenzin's advice be damned, and nothing he did would scare her anymore.

Besides, it wasn't like Lin was going to ask questions like "now Korra, did Amon feel you up before he threw you out of the airship," so Korra didn't see why she should feel uneasy. In fact, after talking to Lin for five minutes, the woman really was growing on Korra, and not just because she'd saved her life- Lin was very professional and intelligent, and a good role-model overall, though she seemed rather preoccupied today, asking the same question twice at one point, and being softer with the young Avatar than usual. Korra was even a bit sad when she had to leave, because Lin had a few more witnesses to talk to, and Korra really didn't have any female friends close to her age. Not that Lin was even remotely close to her age-

"Hey, Korra," came a dejected voice from behind her. Korra whipped around, searching the crowded station for a familiar face. Nobody was really looking at her except a depressed and unkempt-looking young man, who lifted his hand weakly to wave at her, as if it were made of led.

"Tahno?" Korra asked, and indeed, the guy nodded and attempted his usual haughty smile, only managing some sort of grimace. Korra felt intensely bad for him. She sat down; Tahno didn't look at her, but, rather, stared forward with a glazed-over expression until Korra was forced to speak.

"Are you OK?"  
"-Huh? Oh. Do I look OK?" he mumbled, and Korra had to shake her head no, because he really looked like he was ready to pass out and vomit.

"I'm…I'm really sorry Amon took your bending away," she said hastily, and Tahno gave her a mournful look.

"I've been to the best healers in the city. Whatever he did to me…it was permanent."

Korra frowned. She had no idea what to say. She felt bad now- really bad, because of that tiny spark in her that sought out Amon, that wasn't even afraid of him anymore- that –wanted- him to torment her. Here was the evidence right in front of her- the man was a monster. Tahno- the asshole that made Asami cry in the arena's bathroom last week, the guy who had maliciously tried to disqualify them, who had cheated and bribed his way to victory- that Tahno was gone. She couldn't even see a hint of him in this defeated young man. If Amon could do this to Tahno...what could he- what had he already done- to her?

"You've got to get him for me," he said, and they locked eyes- Tahno's were a light, watery blue- they said the freshwater tribes had lighter eyes than the ones in the north and south poles, but that wasn't really important…

"Tahno," Korra said, somewhere between pity and exasperation.

"I can't do it myself. I'm useless. I'm nobody now."

"That's not true, Tahno-"  
"It's true!" he said, loudly, and a few people looked over briefly before going back to their business with added awkwardness.

"Probending was my life. It was the only thing I was good at. And now-"

'You find something else you're good at! Come on, Tahno, I'm sure you can do –something- other than probending?"

"I'm pretty good at hand-panting porcelain," he mused briefly, and Korra raised her eyebrow. "But that's not the same at all! I want to beat people up!"

"Tahno…maybe…you know…you should learn to vent your frustrations some other way."  
"Like how?"

Korra thought about it. She wasn't much of a thinker, nor was she good at non-violent ways of solving problems. All she could think of was Meelo telling her to 'be the leaf,' and dancing wildly.

"You could come train on Airtemple island. Most of the Acolytes are nonbenders, but they are taught disarming self-defense maneuvers and peaceful meditation."

At the world 'nonbenders,' Tahno flinched. Before he could make any sort of commitment either way, however, Chief Beifong called him back into the interrogation room. Tenzin came back too, and Korra hurriedly tried to keep up the conversation.

"I'll get him for you, OK Tahno?'

He smiled.

"So is that a yes or no on my offer?" she asked him loudly as he retreated, guided by the strong arm of Lin Beifong. He raised two fingers dismissively, but there was a tiny flare of cockiness when he said

"See you around…Uhvatar."

_Well, that was it, Korra. You tried. You did your good deed for the day. Time to relax at Asami's place._

* * *

Asami's idea of a surprise turned out to be flying down a speedway at 100 mph. Korra didn't care that it wasn't relaxing. She wasn't much one for relaxing anyway- she actually leaned out the car a little and whooped at the boys as they rocketed past the stands. Right now, this was exactly the rush of adrenaline Korra was looking for.

She was starting to think Asami was really cool, actually. Obnoxiously cool, and the girl had still stolen Mako, but Korra was starting to get over that. Maybe. Just a little.

She really liked Mako. Like, a lot. Like, when he cheered for them and ran over and threw his arms around Asami, whose hair rippled like a shampoo ad, Korra suddenly felt like Naga did whenever other animals tried to eat out of her food bowl and she reverted to 'feral polarbeardog' mode.

But no. Asami –was- really cool. Korra shouldn't let something like a boy ruin their friendship. Besides, even Pema had said, most young relationships weren't permanent.

"There's a lady's powder room if you'd like to freshen up," Asami told Korra amiably, while Korra was still considering the idea of pulling a Pema on her. The Avatar had no idea what a lady's powder room was until she opened the door to discover that it was rich-people-speak for a bathroom.

"Why can't she just say bathroom," Korra mused, attempting to 'powder her nose' like they said rich ladies often did, and ended up with a face (and lungs) full of white dust.

Coughing profusely, she stumbled out into the hall, following the voices back to the front entrance while trying to rub the powder from her eyes.

"It's a shame about what happened to Cabbage Corp," Bolin was saying.

"I know! Who knew? Lau always seemed like such a crazy guy, but not an Equalist," Asami said, looking sad.

"You knew him?" Korra asked, alerting them to her presence.

"Yeah," Asami said quietly. "He was my father's business rival, but not really intense competition- he was more concerned with making automobiles available to the lower class," she explained. "In a way, I suppose it makes sense that he'd support the equalist movement. Most of the lower class _are_ nonbenders, and Lau himself came from a long line of nonbenders."

She sounded regretful as she said this. Korra had to keep reminding herself that Asami was a nonbender too. Rich-girl Asami, talking about how most of her kind were dirt poor and out in the streets…Asami who would date a street-urchin like Mako…

"The only thing I don't understand is the equalist technology…Chief Beifong managed to get ahold of some of those gauntlets, they showed them to my father and I…those are high-end devices. Cabbagemobiles are notorious for their planned obsolescence."

"Planned…excuse me what?" Bolin said for the sake of everyone but Asami.  
"I'm sorry…I forget you guys didn't grow up around technology the way I did…planned obsolescence is when a machine is…purposefully or not, made poorly so it will break down after a certain amount of time- because it's cheaper to manufacture and replace, people will continue to buy the products when they break, rather than upgrade to a Satomobile, for example."

"So how could someone who doesn't make high-end products produce something as reliable as those gauntlets?"

"My point exactly," said Asami with a shrug. "Oh well."

"Hey, man, I'm beat," Mako said suddenly. "This technology talk makes my head hurt- no offense honey."

"None taken, sweetie."

Bolin, standing behind the others, pointed to his mouth and pretended to vomit into his hands. Korra giggled. The other two immediately looked at Bolin.

"Loverboy's right, though. I'm beat. We were swimming for two hours before you got here," he recovered smoothly.

"_They_ were swimming. _I_ was relaxing," Asami laughed.

"Why don't you two go…chill out or something, and I'll hang with Asami for a bit?"

Mako looked surprised. Actually, he looked a bit upset, but Korra wouldn't have noticed, not when Asami was smiling so radiantly.

"Really? You want to hang out with me?" she said brightly.

"Well…yeah…I don't have anything better to do right now. But if you don't want to, I totally understand-"

Asami hugged her with a surprisingly crushing grip. Korra looked over at Bolin, who was giggling, and Mako, who was scowling.

"Girl time!" Asami declared.

"But no makeovers!" Korra insisted, and the two laughed. Both boys wore expressions of varying confusion. Asami was excitedly talking about cars to Korra, who was listening with rapt attention. They were already walking away.

"You said Korra didn't really like Asami."

"She didn't. Girls are weird, ay Bo?" Mako said.

"Tell me about it," Bolin responded, scratching his head. The brothers headed down the hallway back towards the sleeping quarters of their new home, except, neither of them could really remember where it was.

* * *

Asami and Korra spent much of the day driving around and doing things Korra usually deemed 'stupid and girly.' Korra refused to let Asami pay for her most of the time, but Asami found ways to sneak around that- like when they got their hair styled (Korra screamed in anguish as they brushed her hair strait and twisted it into braids) and Asami told them to put it on her tab…or when she gave Korra an 'old jacket' of hers that still had a pricetag on it. Or when she bought Korra a frozen coconut popsicle before the girl could say anything in retaliation…that was the part of the day that really stood out to Korra, mostly because what followed was so unexpected it still shocked her to think about it.

"Come on, my mom used to buy these for me all the time when I was a kid," Asami said, and Korra looked sadly at the dripping white stick, trying to imagine a kid Asami eagerly staring up at her parents in this very same park. Was she always this beautiful? Even as a child, did her hair bounce with every movement? She must have taken after her mother, though there was something about Hiroshi Sato's smile that Asami had inherited.

"What…happened to-"  
"Dead. A firebender raided our house and killed her."

Asami suddenly clenched her fist, squashing her popsicle in her hand. Snow-white pulp ran down her wrist, wetting her jacket. She started to sob, and threw the ruined mess to the ground. Everything stood still. Korra was caught off guard, as though equalists had surrounded them suddenly and were punching her throat, forbidding her to speak.

"He- he didn't have to- even after he raped her, he didn't have to-"

Korra stood there, holding her own rapidly melting popsicle, unable to reach forward and touch her, just stared in shock.

"They killed her…that's why he taught me self-defense…got the best teachers in the city-"

Before Asami could say anything else, Korra dropped her popsicle and hugged her. Meshing in with the snow-littered sidewalk, the two icecreams melted together.

"I used to get nightmares about her screams…I couldn't talk for nearly a year," Asami whispered, tears glistening on her cheeks. "I never thought I could tell anyone what I saw…not even my dad knows…they trapped her in her room afterwards and burned her alive."

"You don't have to be afraid anymore," Korra whispered, putting her hand in the other girl's hair and allowing her to cave into her shoulder. Asami sobbed loudly. Passerby were beginning to stare- Korra gave them a stink-eye and they quickly made their way along.

"It's funny…Mako…he said the same thing."

A pain split through Korra's heart- a terrible agonizing pain.

"You really care about Mako," she whispered, the terrifying truth clutching at her already ice-filled lungs.

"He's the first person who ever made me feel safe."

That grip still held tight to that pulsing red organ they called a heart- a grip that refused to release her. If that mucle pounded any harder, she worried it would split in half.

Asami might have said something else, but Korra could not hear her over the gust of wind, or the words that echoed in her mind, millions of different voices at once.

_Mako…_

_Asami…loves Mako…_

_Does Mako love Asami?_

_Do I…do I love Mako?_

The hands gripping her heart grew slack.

_Does it matter?_

They were pulling away-

_If Asami loves Mako…_

They were retreating…please don't leave, it's so cold- no matter how much it hurts-

_If you love Mako…_

_Let him go._

Korra pressed her lips to Asami's gently. The other girl leaned into it. It was chaste- nothing sexual about it, no feelings but love stirred within her- a different kind of love, not a passionate burning, or an icy clutch- a gentle compassion. In her mind, it was not just Asami- it was as if she embraced everyone she cared about, opened her heart to them- her heart that had been locked for so long…

"I'm sorry- I didn't mean to-"  
"It's ok…I understand…you're my friend, Korra. I really care about you."

"Yeah," Korra agreed, brushing her fingers against her lips in trepidation. The situation was awkward- Korra turned away.

"Really," Asami said, laughing, though tears still stained her face. 'It's OK, Korra."

"You didn't have to tell me those things," Korra said, pulling away from Asami, tears shining in her own eyes.

Asami smiled.

"I _wanted_ to tell you. I trust you. I get a feeling from you…that you somehow understand me better than anyone."

"Yeah…" Korra agreed. Her own lips drew into a smile.


	5. Vishuddah

A/n: for those of you who asked- nope, thicker than water doesn't mean I'm done updating Smirk. It just means more juicy smut, since Smirk is more plot-driven. Speaking of plot…there's a lot of it here, and not any smut. Sorry bout that. Also, I've gotten some people questioning the chapter titles- look up the chakras on the Avatar Wiki…the chapters and their titles will start to make more sense! :)

* * *

"Can I ask you a question?"

Looking out at the gradually darkening bay, the water churning sluggishly, Asami watched Korra as she tossed stones, manipulating the water to make them skip farther than they should under normal circumstances.

"Sure," Asami said, pulling off one of her gloves with her teeth as Korra tossed another stone.

"Do you regret being born a nonbender?"

Plip plip plip plip-_**ploop**_

"Sometimes," Asami replied, shrugging her shoulders gently. "Sometimes, no. It doesn't really inhibit me most of the time. I can handle myself against benders."

"How do you feel so confident, though?" Korra asked quietly. "If someone was charging at me with fire or rocks and all I had was my body to defend myself, I don't know what I'd do!"

Plip…plip plip plip plip-_** plod**_

Asami's pale, girlish hands fingered a flat stone gently. She looked at it eyelevel, almost affectionately.

"Fighting without bending is about patience and skill. It's about remaining calm and waiting for the right moment…"

She gestured to the bay, which had become eerily still, shafts of ruby and sapphire glinting off its marbled surface in the sunset. Standing now, so that she was now just short of Korra's height, she held the flat rock out and tossed. Korra watched it skip apprehensively.

Plip plip plip plip pilp

"It's about using your resources wisely, and knowing your own limits."

…plip plip plip…**Shunk**

Their eyes met. The two girls grinned.

"Doesn't sound so different from fighting with bending. So maybe you can teach me some hand-to-hand sometime?"

"Only if you'll teach me bending."

For some reason, they both found this hysterical, and collapsed into laughter as they made their way back to Asami's car.

"I have to be honest about something, though," Korra said as they headed down the sidewalk, the streetlamps flickering on.

"What's that?"  
"I kinda uh…had a thing for Mako for a while. And um…I'm really sorry- this was before I knew you well- but I kinda…kissed him."

Asami stopped for a moment. Korra almost ran into her.

"I promise, I'm completely over it now-"

"It's not you I'm worried about. It makes sense, now," she said quietly.

"What makes sense now?" Korra blurted out, but Asami turned around and smiled.

"Nothing. It's not a big deal. Really. I mean, technically you kissed me too, so we're even. You're just very affectionate."

Korra laughed nervously.

"Shit, It's really late. Dad's going to kill me. He wasn't too happy about me inviting the boys to stay either."  
"Why not?" Korra said, raising her eyebrow as she dug into her ear with her finger. She felt that she had made everything awkward again, even though Asami was brushing this off as 'no big deal.'

"Something about how it 'looks the wrong way' or something. People might talk about me…I don't really care."  
"Asami?"  
"Eh?"

"You're really cool. I'm glad we're friends."

Asami opened the door to the satomobile and got in, gesturing for Korra to follow.  
"No, it's already late. The bridge isn't far from here. I'll walk."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Korra said, placing her arms behind her head and grinning. For some reason, her time with Asami, the newfound lightness in her heart- it made everything seem like it would work out.

"All right then. See you soon? I'll give you a call tomorrow. I'm sure the boys want to hang out too."

"See ya."

Asami looked down briefly before she drove off, probably at least ten miles over the speed limit. The second she was out of sight, Korra exhaled. So much had happened between them in the course of a day, and she wasn't sure how to handle it. Heading towards the bridge, Korra started it realize that it –was- dark. Dark meant bad things.

Dark meant equalists.

She kept herself on guard the entire way back, but nothing happened. Not even the rev of a motorcycle in the distance- nothing, just snow falling silently and the crinkling of her bag from shopping.

_Why is it nothing ever happens when I'm expecting it? Why do you always wait until I feel safe?_

* * *

Councilman Tarrlok tossed and turned in his bed, before knocking over something on his bedside table, the shattering sound causing him to wake suddenly.

Rubbing his shadowed eyes, he pulled the switch to the closest lamp, a photograph glinting beneath the schism of glass on the floor. Four blue-eyed people- a gently smiling woman with a man, whose laughter seemed rather smug- two children, one with thick, worried eyebrows and a hopeful expression, the other whose face was obscured by a brightly lit shard of glass, before Tarrlok swept it away, so that the other boy smiled back at him with a radiant charisma.

It hurt. It hurt too much to look at them. The room was ice-cold for some reason- that was it, he had left his window open. That was odd. Shutting it forcefully, Tarrlok swept aside the glass and placed the photo inside the drawer of the table it once stood on, so that his brother's smirk would haunt him no longer.

* * *

For the occupants of Republic city whom sleep was an option for, sleep came restlessly. Catcoons dug through trashbins and yowled despondently at the moon.

Away from the howling varmints of the inner city, Asami treaded through the hallways lightly, figuring she'd have to sneak around, but the mansion was quiet. She opened the door to her father's studio- he was asleep in his chair, newspaper over his face and snoring. A fire flickered lightly in the hearth, casting ominous shadows everywhere.

"Daddy?"

Hiroshi sat up slowly, looking around groggily. His eyebrows were creased in worry.

"It's late, Asami, I was worried…" he trailed off. She could tell by his expression that he genuinely had been worried.

"I was with Korra, daddy. We got a bit caught up in the day…are you all right? You look tired."

"I'm fine, Asami, sweetheart. Go to bed. Everything will be fine tomorrow."

Asami kissed him on the cheek, turning to leave. She felt uncomfortable, and wasn't sure why. Fine tomorrow? What had been wrong about today?

* * *

Then came Wednesday morning, Chief Beifong acting so irritated and distracted that Saikhan tapped her on the shoulder and pulled her aside.

"You ok?' he said nervously.

"What? Yes, of course I'm ok," she snapped, but her expression softened at his upset face. Saikhan had always been a bit of a fuddy-duddy and too soft in comparison with the rest of her police force. "Oh, OK. I have a date later, and I'm just preoccupied with the thought of it."

She sounded so disgusted and angry that Saikhan scratched the top of his bald head, feeling it was best that he say nothing and let Beifong continue if she wanted.

"With councilman Tarrlok."

"Oh! That's…uh…Tarrlok…he's an interesting fellow…had a couplea drinks with him the other night."  
"Did you now?"

"H-hey, I was just-"  
"What's he like?" Lin said, crinkling her eyebrows in worry. "Outside of the council, outside of his task-force?" Her voice trailed off towards the end. Saikhan only realized she wasn't just musing out loud when she shot him a stern look.

"Oh? Um…pretty nice, actually. Very easygoing, almost shy around women, it's weird that he'd ask you o-not that any man wouldn't- n-nevermind- Tarrlok- Very strong opinions, really protective of the city. Reminds me a lot of you, actually-"  
"Don't say that," Lin returned in a deadpan voice.

"Oh, well, he's actually nothing like you-"  
"Saikhan?"

"…Yes?"

"You're annoying me."

"Yes."

And with that, the balding man bowed and ducked through the door, leaving Lin alone with her fingers laced contemplatively.

* * *

Korra twisted and turned gracefully, not running into a single of the charred wooden panels for a record time. When she exited the forest of churning wind, the smile on her face was elated. She let out a giant whoop.

"KORRA'S QUEEN OF THE WIND!" Meelo screeched with such excitement that he scooted forward a few paces, propelled by his characteristic 'fartbending,' causing Tenzin's hand to grasp his forehead in exasperation while Ikki rubbed her younger brother's head affectionately.

"Yes, yes, that was very nice, Korra," Tenzin said, pushing the mutinous-looking Jinorra after her younger siblings as they raced across the island, Meelo landing on his face and wailing in pain. Ikki kissed his knee.

"That will make everything better!" she quipped, throwing her hands to the sun as though expecting its blessing to rain down in the form of glitter.

Ignoring all of this, Tenzin focused on Korra, whose excited look immediately became downcast when she noticed they were alone.

"What now," she said in a slightly acid-laced voice. Tenzin sighed.

"Can we sit down?"

Korra looked off to the side. Her expression softened.

"Yeah," she said, and together they placed themselves in front of the panels, chilly wind whipping at their orange garments.

"I'm sorry that I was so protective. Korra…I-"  
"It's ok, Tenzin-" Korra started, but he shot her a look that told her to shut up and let him be emotional.

"I love you as my own daughter. And not just because you're the Avatar- not because I have to, Korra. You're a brave and admirable young lady. The thought of someone defiling you, hurting you in such a disgusting, cowardly way, it blinded me to the fact that you're more than a child, and more than my daughter. You are a young Avatar who is brave and talented, enough to make your own decisions- regardless of whether or not I approve of them."

"So…you're saying…"  
"I'm not sure what you're thinking, Korra- what's going on in that head of yours. I will probably never understand the full extent of the mind games that man is capable of. But you're right- you're a match for him. You're the Avatar- the only one who can stop him. And…I trust you, to do what is necessary."

Korra bit her lip. Tears were pouring down her face. With an unflattering sniffling wail, she threw herself into Tenzin's awkwardly stiff arms, until his tense body melted to accept her embrace.

"I love you too, Tenzin. You're one of the smartest, bravest, kindest people I know-"

"That's quite enough, Korra, you don't need to go overboard-"

"And I admire you, more than anyone in the world" she finished, pulling away to see that his eyes were also shining with tears. In the background, childish, off-key singing sifted through the bitterly cold air. Tenzin exhaled, a cloud of fog escaping his bearded lips.

"_Cackle, cackle, goes the crow_

_Riding on the breeze_

_Splish splish goes the little fish_

_Swimming in the seas."_

* * *

"What do you mean they've gone out?"

"Master Bolin went to get noodles with some friends…master Mako is with the Avatar."

"H-he is?" Asami said, clutching her heart suddenly. "Why wouldn't they have told me?"

"No idea," the butler said impassively, his poker-face quite excellent. "Your father informed me this morning before he went off to work."

Asami fidgeted her fingers restlessly.

"Did he say anything else?"

"No, I'm afraid not. "  
"Maybe I should call Korra-"

"Mr. Sato regrettably informed me that the phone lines went down this morning. If you want, I can prepare your car-"

"Nevermind," Asami said, hurt crawling through her tone like stinging little dragonhornets. "If they wanted me to come along they'd have invited me. If anyone –does- need me, I'll be out on the test tracks."

Asami's butler didn't really understand anyone in this household. He sighed, wiping the floor where she had tread dirt, before picking up the phone, finger twisting the dials until it rang in to Hiroshi Sato's office.

"I told her as you said, sir."

"Good job, Yotsu. It's for the best."

"The Avatar keeps calling, sir, what should I tell her?"

"The same thing you told my daughter - that Asami is out with the boys."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

"Augh! I can't believe them!" Korra said, pulling at her hair in frustration. Jinora sipped a juicebox nonchalantly, looking up over her book.

"She told me she'd hang out with me today! And then all three of them go off without me? What is this, ignore Korra day? I can't believe her!"

"Yes, you said that," Jinorra snarked lowly, but it wasn't intentionally bitchy- Pema had informed Korra excitedly that Jinora was on her very first period, much to the younger girl's annoyance and embarrassment, and she'd been brooding ever since.

"I thought after yesterday maybe things would have changed but _noooo_, little-miss perfect gets all the boys! None for you, Korra! You can't even see your friends!"

"Why don't you just go see her and ask what's up?"

"No, If they want to have fun without me, who cares? Who cares?" Korra shrugged, hands flapping to her sides as she pouted absurdly.

"Sounds like you care."

The sound of the door sliding open caused the two to stop bickering. An Air Acolyte- a very young one, stood there awkwardly, holding a broom. Korra noticed him immediately because he was new- new enough that he hadn't shaved his head yet, his droopy black hair absurd against the orange of his clothes.

"Tahno?"

"Oh…uh…hi…Uhvatar Korra."

"You…you seriously took my advice?"

"Well, I thought I'd give it a try…"

Korra threw her arms around Tahno. Then she realized what she was doing, and both backed away from each other as though electrocuted, Korra turning and making a face as she brushed her arms off, Tahno shivering a little.

"Interesting development," Jinora sighed, closing her book and standing, putting her hand on her stomach as though it hurt to live. "I'll leave you two alone, then."

Tahno and Korra stared at each other.

"How are you, um, liking it here?' she asked awkwardly. Tahno's lower lip trembled.

"It's…it's just not my thing…so far…I'm sure…I'm sure…THEY WANT ME TO SHAVE MY HEAD," he wailed, digging at his scalp as though to prevent it from uprooting itself and flapping away. Korra giggled a little.

"It's not funny! This hair is all I have left!"

"The air nomads believed that giving up their worldly possessions was the first step to achieving inner balance-"

"It's not a worldly possession, it's MY HAIR!" he shrieked, sending the broom clattering to the ground. Another Air Acolyte peeked his head in. Tahno straightened up immediately, bowing politely.

"Is everything ok in here?"

"Ah, yes, just practicing my singing," Tahno said nervously. The air Acolyte looked at him as though disturbed.

"Keep practicing," he said, and closed the door.

* * *

"You're hurt again, Lieutenant."

"Not badly-"

"You seem to be having difficulty breathing."

"The earthbender may have broken a few ribs," he hissed, clearly in pain. "I've survived worse."

"Indeed you have, but it would not be advisable for you to return to battle so soon after an injury this grave. Here- take off your shirt.

"Sir?"

"Just take it off," Amon said, a tiny hint of annoyance surfacing in the depths of his growling baritone.

Lieutenant did as he was ordered. A nasty purple bruise bloomed across the surface of his chest. He had the type of body that would always show his ribs, no matter how much muscle he acquired, his pale skin covered with a thin sheen of sweat from withholding his pain.

"Those benders," he said, hate rising in his voice. Amon walked around his back, pressing his hands against him.

"Sorry," Amon whispered lowly. "I don't mean for this to be painful"

Behind his Lieutenant's back, he twitched his fingers, concentrating his half-lidded eyes through the mask. The dark-haired man started to shriek in pain again, before Amon lowered his hands, and the pain subsided.

"Do you feel better?"

"Actually, yes."

"Good."

"What exactly did you do?"

"put your ribs back into place, imbecile. Nothing more."

The Lieutenant looked down at his feet as Amon closed the door behind him. This was not the first time the man had 'fixed' his injuries, and it would not be the last, but for some reason it was not a comforting thought, even for a sadist like him.


	6. Vishuddah 2

An: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed this. Some of you guys really made my day, and I'd respond to every single one of you if it didn't make me feel awkward. But really, I'm just so touched by it all. Also, I wanted to warn those of you reading equilibrium- it's on hold for a bit, just because I've been struggling with it lately. But this and TTW will continue to update regularly!

* * *

Asami did not, in fact, head to the tracks. She headed instead to her father's home office, tearing open the drawers of his desk and rustling through papers, tossing them aside impatiently when they did not yield the answers she wanted. She searched for secret compartments, searched the bookshelves for clues, cried for a good measure because she was being a bad daughter, a horrible daughter, and of course her father wouldn't lie to her, wouldn't hurt Mako or Bolin, smacked herself in the face, looked behind pictures, stuck her head in the hearth and coughed, knowing she was taking a shot in the dark and losing her cool.

Nothing.

_Why am I doing this?_ Asami wondered, and she remembered her father's face last night, remembered his words-

_Everything will be fine tomorrow._

Everything was not fine. Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong, and Asami was not going to stop until she got answers. She kicked the wastebin over in frustration, ready to storm out, but something caught her eye- plans for machinery? She couldn't tell, it was balled up, so she crouched down and uncrumpled it and smoothed it out, eyes narrowing at the complicated diagram. "Mechatank design recall 5.2…flaws in the interior cooling mechanism…"

She could see that. Not one of her father's better designs- wait- that sign, that character stamped on the front of the tank, its strokes glaring from between her trembling hands.

"Equality," she read, and dropped the paper as though burned, stumbling to her feet. She knocked a great deal of things off her father's desk, accidentally at first, uncoordinated in her shock, but then deliberately, swiping it clean so pens scattered across the floor and papers fluttered aimlessly. The telephone was knocked off its hook, and it made a sound- a buzzing sound of dissent, and that was the final straw for Asami.

"Liar!" she shouted, picking up the paper and clenching it in her fist, and she stormed out, leaving the studio a wreck.

* * *

Tahno And Korra took a break, then, walking across the grounds sluggishly as the sky began to darken. It was probably the most depressing feeling ever, being next to Tahno in his current state, and she couldn't help but feel that whatever Amon did to him was ten times worse than what he did to her- or perhaps it was their methods of dealing?

"So why are you alone, Uhvatar…I don't usually see you without at least ten men and a few ladies hanging off your arms."

"That is a gross exaggeration and you know it," Korra snarked. "What about you? What happened to Tahno and the Tahoes?"

"They moved on to another team," he said with a sigh, and Korra felt bad so she clamped her mouth shut before she could upset him further. This Tahno was so dejected and quiet that he seemed only roughly forged from the jerk she had met weeks ago, the way a diamond had no superficial resemblance to coal, or food to excrement. "But you still haven't told me why you're alone."

"Because my friends who swore they'd hang out with me decided to ditch me, I guess. Asami promised she'd call…but when I talked to her butler he said they had all gone out."

"Doesn't sound like Asami Sato," he said, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Huh?" Korra's unflattering response matched her idiotic expression. "Hey, how do you know Asami anyway?"

Tahno had a nervous habit of twirling his hair, Korra noted. It took a while for him to answer too, and when he did he said it breezily, as though the news was nothing important.

"Oh, we dated for a while…"

"WHAT?"

"You heard me right, Uhvatar, I was Asami's bitch for a while."

Korra bit her lip, pausing for a moment and pawing at the frosty ground with her foot.

"What did you think of her?"

"She was beautiful. Rich. Kind. Smart. Made me feel like shit about myself, because she was so damn perfect. Got resentful. Treated her like shit- she broke up with me. I guess it's my fault, looking back. I really resented her for it, though."

Korra's hand brushed against the bark of a nearby tree. Leaning, she assessed him, awkward in his gaudy garments of sunlit peaches and buttercups. The bags under his eyes had yet to retreat, but his complexion was starting to clear up, become less green-tinged.

"Asami is a good person. Good to a fault. She wouldn't tell you one thing and do another. She does what she says she's going to do. She broke my heart, but she gave me fair warning beforehand. That's just how Asami works."

Korra straitened up, a chilly wind clawing at her hair. It picked up, tearing at what was left of the leaves, as Korra stood there contemplatively.

_Asami is a good person,_ his voice echoed.

"You OK Uhva- Korra?'

"I'm fine. I need to do something," she said, turning to leave rather abruptly. She hesitated, however, turning back to look at Tahno with his silly floppy hair and awkward garments, and smiled. "Thank you for telling me that, Tahno. I feel like I understand you a bit more, maybe."

Tahno pawed at the back of his head bashfully, making that awkward half-grimace. Korra turned and ran, wind roaring in her ears.

* * *

The phone rang obnoxiously. The Sato-family's butler stopped answering it at first, but eventually the sound became so irritating that he forced himself to pick it up again with a sigh.

"Sato residen-"  
"Where is Asami?" came a harsh voice. The Avatar again. It was getting late, the winter sun retreating into its snowy blanket increasingly sooner each day, and a chill seemed to be settling through the hall as the warmth retreated with the light.

"I told you, she's gone-"

"LIAR!" Korra shouted, and he had to back away from the phone momentarily, his ear stinging from the sound of her voice.

"I will inform her that you called when she returns-"

"Don't bother. I'm coming over now," Korra said savagely, and after a fumbling sound- she was so enraged she seemed to be having trouble hanging up the phone- there was dead silence. He quickly called Hiroshi Sato again, tapping his foot and waiting patiently for the man to pick up.

"What is it now?" Mr Sato answered in a tired voice.

"The Avatar is coming here, sir."

A nervous silence this time. Hiroshi's butler had worked for the family for nearly six years now, and he'd never seen them behave so strangely before. It was making him uncomfortable.

"I see. Where is my daughter, Yotsu?"

"Out on the tracks."

"Send her away, at all costs. Make up whatever lie is necessary to remove her from the premises.

"Sir?"

"I'm coming back, Yotsu."

* * *

Lin's dress was a bit outdated for this sort of thing, but at least she hadn't shown up in her police armor, like Tarrlok half-expected her to. She cleaned up pretty nicely, actually, and if he had actually invited her out here with the intention of sleeping with her he would have been impressed, but it mostly just served as a mild distraction.

"I have no idea what's going through your mind," Lin said.

"You're not very romantic, are you?"

"Is that really what this is? Romance?"

"I suppose you're right."

"So cut to the chase. We're alone, like I assume you wanted. What is the point of this?"

"I wanted to…ah…well, it's difficult to say…" Tarrlok tapped his fingers together, eyebrows raised, his smile almost playfully shy.

"I didn't put on a dress and these uncomfortable shoes to hear you stutter."

"I wanted to talk about the police department and my task force working together," he finished with a shrug. It seemed that he had dropped his schmoozing politician smile for a nervous grimace, knowing she would undoubtedly reject his offer, and Lin stared at him with a confused look, clearly unsure if his audacity or uncharacteristic mannerisms were more disturbing to her at this moment.

"Why would you ask a thing like that?"

"Because I think we'd be more successful if we worked together instead of against each other," Tarrlok said quietly, placing his chiseled face upon his neatly folded hands and watching her. Bizzare. He was acting bizzare, and he knew it, but perhaps this would throw her for a loop and she'd actually consider.

"You have yet to help me so far-"  
"I realize that fully. You must understand, Lin, you are a difficult woman to work with. I've tried every approach I could to get through to you, and this was my final stand. No bribes, no blackmailing. A sincere request."

Lin glared through mint-green eyes, hating his face right now, hating how normal he looked when he wasn't dripping with the seasoned deliberation of an actor.

"How do I know I can trust you."

He stood. She almost flinched as he made his way over, bending down and looking up at her. His gaze was so childlike at that instant, it made her heart ache for reasons she could not understand, and his hand carefully removed her right shoe and placed her foot against the cold stone ground of the restaurant's floor.

"Because no one else will work with me. Because no one else is strong enough. Because I do want what's best for this city, and I will do whatever it takes to protect it."

* * *

Korra kicked open the door to the Sato mansion, cupping her hands to her mouth.

"Asami?" she shouted.

Nothing. Korra's entire body became dotted with goose-pimples. The mansion was cold, it was silent, and it was dark. In fact, the guards that usually stood like statues at the entrance had been absent, and the wrongness of it now was starting to eat at Korra's nerves.

"Asami!" Korra shouted again, running down the hall, opening and closing doors, room after empty room revealing nothing- no guests, no servants, no Asami, no Mako ,no Bolin.

"ASAMI! MAKO! BOLIN!" Korra belted, throwing open the door to Hiroshi Sato's studio. A fire flickered in the mantle, the chair he usually occupied turned towards it and away from her, but there was no crinkle of a newspaper, no irritated exclamation of surprise. Korra walked in, hands raised defensively. Finally the figure stood- and yes, it was Mr. Sato after all, and while Korra wanted to breathe a sigh of relief she couldn't because this whole thing reeked of foul play.

"You need to learn to keep your head out of other people's business, Avatar," he said, his usually jolly tone savage and bitter, as though he hated every fiber of her existence just for being there, and Korra faltered, feeling her pupils quiver in anticipation of his next words. She knew s_omething _was wrong, but not _this_ wrong…

"Mr Sato, what-"

"You and those nosy little boyfriends of yours, polluting my daughter's mind with your _bending_ and corruption-"  
"Where are they?" Korra said, her face paling two shades, eyes wide in horror.

"Asami? She went looking for you, I assume, which is disappointing, but can be dealt with later. Those vermin you call your 'friends' are incarcerated and awaiting cleansing in the factory beneath the building."

Korra took a step back. She knocked over a lamp on a side table, her body trembling.

"No…" she whispered, hands clawing at her hair. "No! How- how could you do this? How could you betray Asami like this-"  
"Don't talk like you know my daughter, Avatar," Hiroshi spat, and a popping sound resonated from the fireplace, a log rolling onto the unprotected hearth and flickering angrily, changing the light so his face was clear- how angry he looked, his glaring eyes, his clenched fists-

"Asami-"

"Asami is my daughter! She is loyal to me, as she should be to the memory of her mother, instead frolicking with the type of scum that _killed_ her-"

Hiroshi picked up the poker from the fireside, brandishing it like a weapon. Korra's eyes widened. He wanted to fight her? But it wasn't a fair fight…no…she couldn't hurt Asami's father-

"Mr Sato, please, I'm sure we can talk this out peacefully-"

"I'm tired of being peaceful towards the likes of you benders, then watching you turn around and use your powers to hurt my already broken family-"

"Mr Sato, please-"

He swung the poker at her, and Korra ducked, a picture on the wall shattering as the heavy iron made contact. Shards of glass plinked to the floor, a giant gash now obscuring the face of a curly-haired woman with her hand on a smiling Asami's shoulder.

"Mr Sato, there's still time to undo this!"

"A firebender! My beautiful daughter in love with a firebender! Do you know how much it eats away at me to watch them gaze at each other, watch them smile-"

"Mako's parents were killed by a firebender too-"

"All the more reason to make the fuckers go extinct," Hiroshi said, now smiling psychotically, The log on the mantle guttered sadly, a single spark detaching itself and hitting his armchair, burning a hole in the cushy surface.

Korra ducked again, losing patience with the madman, grabbing the poker after he attempted once again to swing it at her, fighting for control over the weapon before he jerked it away and swung it into her side with considerably shocking strength. Korra screamed in agony.

"That's it!" Korra said, and her hands started to glow with her preferred element, the flames reflected in his enraged eyes for a moment before she stopped, flames vanishing- no- no, she couldn't do that, not to Asami's father, not after what Asami had told her- Korra ducked again, trying to think of how she could disarm him without hurting him-

"Go ahead, firebender. Use your power to kill me. Waste your time destroying another life while your friends await their destruction down below."

Korra paused, hope betraying her, and a he nicked her in the side of the face, sending her crashing backwards into a bookcase.

"That's right," he said, pressing the tip of the metal rod against her throat. "They still have their bending. They're –waiting- for you to come save them, waiting while you waste your time fighting an old man who can scarcely defend himself."

Korra didn't know how she did it. It just seemed natural, then, hands bracing against the floor as she kicked her feet towards him, a gush of air blasting from her feet and into his shins…wait- air-

Hiroshi Sato was knocked backwards. Korra stood, body aching, hands tensed, but Hiroshi had hit his head against the floor and was not stirring. She looked around franticly, heart racing- _what now, what now_, and she fled, slamming his studio shut and holding the doorknob in her now flaming hands, melting it until it the door would no longer budge.

"I'm sorry, Mr Sato," she whispered, and bolted down the hall, flinging herself back through the entrance and into the night air.

* * *

Lin replaced her shoe, a bit flushed from the earlier display of raw honesty, as the Councilman took his seat again.

"You're either a very good liar, or I've lost my touch."

"Perhaps a mixture of both, Beifong, but I am not lying at this instant. We need each other- I'm willing to swallow my pride to defeat that man…are you willing to swallow yours?"

She thought about it. She thought about it so long that Tarrlok grew bored and irritable and had a great deal of trouble holding his tongue. He was even about to say something, but at that moment a girl burst into the restaurant- a regular here, the Sato heiress, Tarrlok realized, but she was certainly not dressed for a special occasion, and to his displeasure she made her way for their table and banged her fist on the surface, looking between the two of them with a ferocious glare that seemed to impress Lin a bit. There was a paper in her shaking hand.

"What on earth is it, child?"

"I spent all day tracking you down, so listen. Listen good. I need you to understand something, and it's hard for me to say, and if you don't believe me, I'm going to cry and it's not going to be pretty."

"Well spit it out then-"

"My father works for Amon, and I think he kidnapped my boyfriend and his brother."

* * *

Korra dug into the ground. It was stupid and desperate, because she had no idea where she was digging to, she could come out on the other side of the world for all she knew, but she dug- plowed into the lawn with earthbending until she grew frustrated and moved onto a another area, creating another gaping hole in the Satos' lawn before she leaned back, panting, entire body aching.

Who was she kidding? Even if she did manage to break through to the secret factory, how would she defeat him? With airbending? Another unlocked element under her belt, but it meant nothing, absolutely nothing, because she could master every element on the planet, but she'd still freeze the second she saw that man's mask.

"Damn. Earth. Why. Won't. You. Show me!" Korra shouted, pounding the ground after yet another unsuccessful attempt, and she prepared to move on again, body filthy and caked with dirt. Tears slid down her nose and her body wracked with misery. She'd be too late, she _was _too late-

"What are you doing, Korra?" came a droning voice. Korra turned around, wide-eyed, earth smudged across her nose, and looked at his face.

"Tahno! Why are you here?"

* * *

Bolin shivered. Mako leaned his head against his brother's back, and the two of them waited there, waited in the darkness, nobody moving, not them, not the equalists surrounding them, not Amon. They couldn't move anyway- they were tossed against the wall, and Bolin knew better than to try anything, even though his feet touched the ground, even though the temptation was strong. The icy glare of that mask watched them; he could have been frowning, he could have been amused- it was so hard to tell, and Bolin didn't want to look at him anyway, he was too damn frightened. He looked at the Lieutenant instead, just as he started to talk, but was no less disturbed by what this man had to say.

"She's taking a long time," the lieutenant said coldly. Amon, hands folded behind his back, turned to face him, tilting his head a little.

"She'll come," he said quietly. "She has no choice."

"What I'm saying, is, though, what's the point of holding off on both of them?" His eyes shot over to Bolin. Bolin's accidental eye contact caused him to twitch in horror, looking away reluctantly with a ghastly, terrified stare.

"I see, you're still upset about earlier. Very well, then. If it suits you, Lieutenant, we can get one of them out of the way."

Amon started to walk towards them. Bolin felt Mako tense. Bolin's heart was beating a million miles an hour. He wasn't sure what was scarier- the thought of losing his bending, or of losing Mako.

It looked like he didn't have to choose. Amon stopped in front of him, and slowly reached his hand down-

And then Mako started to thrash. He was tied tightly, but he tossed his head back and forth, and the cloth that gagged him was burnt to ash, incinerated, he was breathing fire, screaming at them.

"If you touch him, I'll kill you! Touch him and you'll die! I swear by every spirit in this world and the next, if you hurt my brother, I'll kill you-"

Amon tilted his head. He was still looking at Bolin, even though Mako was flipping his shit two inches away. The Lieutenant made a move, but Amon held up his hand to stop him. Bolin tried his hardest to keep his eyes open. They were watery with tears, but he would not let himself cry, no-

"Your brother seems to want to go first. What do you say to that, earthbender?"

"P-please don't hurt him, sir…" Was all Bolin could manage. Amon reached his hand for Bolin's forehead. No, no, please no- he shut his eyes, knowing what would happen, but instead of his forehead, Amon's hand placed itself in his hair, ruffling it briefly, before he turned his attention to Mako.

"It will not hurt him. It will fix him."


	7. Vishuddah 3

A/N: So one of the reviews I got last chapter is that this story doesn't have enough rape so it's getting boring. LOL. Sorry, you're about to have another 'boring' chapter without rape. Just a great deal of violence. Boo hoo. Go watch a hentai instead. Everyone who was constructive and encouraging, on the other hand- thank you. I've taking everything you say into account as I write ;D

* * *

Tahno watched Korra with a slightly abhorrent expression. Obviously he did not find her attractive when she was sniveling and covered in mud, but she wasn't exactly trying to run for a beauty pageant right now.

"I came because I was concerned, Uhvatar. It was hard to get away, too. I've apparently been in the bathroom for thirty minutes now."

"Tahno," she said breathlessly, and she got to her feet shakily, grabbing the front of his robes in desperation. "Tahno, they have Mako and Bolin under the house. I don't know where. There's a factory under there and I'm trying to break into it but I don't know where it is," she wailed, and he tried his very hardest to ignore the dirt she was smearing on his collar.

"It's probably out behind the workshop," he said, as though this should have been obvious to her, and Korra shook him roughly.

"How do you know?"

"I don't, but it's a better lead than tearing up the garden looking for tunnels."

"Take me there, now!" she demanded, and he looked at her with a sad, nervous expression and exhaled.

"Fine, follow me."

The two ran across the grounds, Tahno rather ungracefully and tripping at least twice- he was not exactly light on his feet anymore, and Korra was starting to worry about bringing him with her. Despite that, she felt safer with him there, even though he was next to useless without his bending, so she told herself that he'd be fine and at the very least, he couldn't be de-bended again.

"This is the building," he said, and Korra immediately began plowing into the earth again, lifting massive rocks and clods of dirt and tossing them bit-by-bit into a giant mound until she hit something more solid.

"Yes!" Korra screamed loudly. She glanced over at Tahno, now covered with a generous film of dust, and gave him a look that clearly stated her question- 'are you coming with me?'

"What are you waiting for, Uhvatar? Are we going down there or not?"

Korra tilted her head. Then she strode towards him, picking him up bridal-style much to his chagrin, manly pride completely shattered.

"Oh chill out prettyboy, I'll put you down in a second."

She jumped, Tahno in her arms, and landed at the bottom of the hole cleanly, Tahno now grabbing onto her arms for dear life. It was dark down here, and when she put him down he clung to her shirt until she sighed audibly with a "give me a bit of space" and kicked through the hard stone shell protecting the tunnel. Tahno shrieked loudly, much like he had when Naga had roared in his face the first time. Bits of lanternlight peaked through the hole she had created, and Korra jumped into the cavern, looking up at Tahno's pale, scared face.

"I think I'll just stay here," he whimpered, and she groaned.

"Fine. Stay in the hole. I'll come get you later."

"Stay in the hole? How long will it take you?"

Korra didn't want to answer that question. The answer was probably too depressing for him to handle, and chances are he would be stuck in that hole for quite a while if she was unable to defeat Amon. Tahno must have seen something in her face, because he finally braced himself and jumped through the hole, legs wobbling to support his weight after he hit the ground.

"Come on, let's go."

There was a cart waiting for them, and Korra climbed in, offering her hand to Tahno.

"You know, you don't have to treat me like a helpless child," he said resentfully. While he clambered in on his own, Korra smiled- he couldn't see it, though, it was gone the instant he looked back at her, and they were speeding down the tunnel, into the mountainside.

* * *

Asami parked her car on the lawn, tearing a great tract into the already ravaged grass. It looked like a bagermole infestation had plagued their house, and Lin couldn't help but wonder what had happened, or if the Sato family just had an odd notion of attractive landscaping.

"I'm going to speak to my father," Asami said sternly to her and Tarrlok, clicking open her door and stomping up towards the house, leaving them baffled in the back seat. That had probably been one of the most terrifying car rides of Lin's life, and if the child hadn't been so distraught she would have given her at least ten speeding tickets.

* * *

The brushing of their dirty boots against the clean stone floor was agonizingly loud. Oh well- there was no chance of them catching him off guard anyway- after all, he was already there, waiting, Bolin and Mako at his mercy.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Korra asked Tahno. He honestly wasn't the bravest person she had ever met, and he seemed to be struggling not to piss his pants right now.

"Of course I want to go, Uhvatar. This is personal."

"I think you should stay back."

"No, please! Let me go!" he begged loudly, and Korra shook him from her arms again, giving him a resolute glance that seemed to say 'you're a grown-ass man who can make his own decisions, now get off.'

Tahno separated himself from Korra's body reluctantly, then took a deep breath.

"Are you ready now?"

"I think so."

They turned the corner. The room was dimly lit, but crowded with figures, Amon's imposing figure the most distinct. The walls were lined with strange humanoid vehicles, like horrible suits of armor that stared blankly off into space through their glazed-over windows. Mako and Bolin were slumped against the wall, tied up and back-to-back. Bolin turned towards her almost immediately.

"Korra- go- go back, it's-" he started, but was cut off by a sharp kick from the Lieutenant. "It's too late!" he started again. "Mako's already-"

"Shut up, boy," the Lieutenant growled, and Korra's alarmed eyes shot to Mako, who refused to glance in her direction, expression hopeless and blank.

"Tahno…will you be ok?"

"Of course I will," said Tahno, shivering visibly in his monk boots, and Korra threw herself forward, the stone floor of the factory rippling beneath her, towards the Lieutenant. Amon made no effort to fight, just stood there for the time being, while Korra engaged the skinny man, ripping open a cluster of pipes in the wall and spilling water into the room. An equalist tried to prevent Tahno from freeing the two boys, and he changed his stance to a probending position, lashing out with his fists. The equalist was faster, but after losing movement in one arm, Tahno managed to punch them in the face with a sickening crunch, and they reeled back, the ex-probender kicking them in the stomach and swinging around to catch the one behind him as well.

"Forgive me, Aang!" he shouted nonsensically.

"It's OK!" Korra shouted back. Tahno sent a flurry of punches at his next attacker, laughing manically, either at Korra's joke or his own violence; it was hard to tell with Tahno.

Bolin, meanwhile, had severed part of the ropes binding his arms to his side by kicking the ground and sending a sharp stake of earth through them. His legs were still tied separately, but he threw himself forward onto his hands, impressively balancing upside-down and knocking back an equalist attempting to surprise Korra with an earth-pillar.

Korra froze some of the leakage and used it to slice Bolin's legs free, but accidently nicked him in the process.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled.

"It's ok!" he yelled back, rushing to free his brother, who was still looking blankly at Amon, who made a move to stop him before Bolin housed the two of them in an earth-tent. Korra heard him speaking frantically to Mako behind the stone walls, but could not make any of it out. She kicked the Lieutenant in the stomach with a fire-infused foot, but he recovered with an impressive backflip.

"Perhaps we should upgrade," Amon mused. 'This seems to be getting us nowhere."

On that cue, the glimmering metallic tanks suddenly roared to life. Korra had hardly noticed them before- they had looked purely decorative, but now they moved impressively- slow but strong, and Bolin tried his hardest to knock them over with little luck. His rocks were hardly denting them, and Korra's attempts to freeze their feet were entirely unsuccessful- on top of that, the Lieutenant was still attacking.

She glared at Amon as the four of them were backed together between the machines. Bolin and Korra made a wall around them, but a few hits from the mechatanks, and it was already crumbling. Mako looked at his feet.

"I'm sorry, Korra," he whispered. "Sorry, Bolin."

* * *

Throwing open the front doors, Asami immediately smelled something wrong. Literally- the hallway was hazy, and she realized in horror there must have been a fire.

Smoke was billowing from under the door to her father's office. Asami tried to twist the knob, but it was melted and warped and still hot to the touch, and she pulled her hands back with a shocked hiss.

"Daddy?"

"Asami?" came a frightened voice from behind the door.

"Daddy? Hold on, I'll get you out!" she cried, kicking the wooden door over and over until it split down the middle. Smoke gushed out of the room and she burst inside, trying through the haze to find her father. He was staying low to the ground, and had apparently procured a gas-mask for himself- the reason he had not yet fainted from smoke inhalation. The fire seemed to have originated from his desk area, and Asami grabbed him by the arm, supporting his massive weight and pulling him into the hallway, where they both collapsed.

"What happened!" she cried, pulling the gas-mask from his face, the back of his thinning hair sticky with blood.

"The Avatar locked me in the room and set fire to it," he said weakly. Asami's hands trembled, shock lighting up her features with an electric sort of horror.

"She what?"

"She attacked me and locked me in the room after setting fire to it," he wheezed. "Asami, I'm sorry I lied to you about the equalists- I'm sorry-'

"It's ok!" she whispered, throwing her arms around him and sobbing. "It's ok, as long as you're alive. Daddy, where did Korra go?"

"She went to the tunnel under the shed. I'm sorry, Asami, so sorry...I was trying to protect you from them..."

Firelight glinted in his cracked glasses. Asami saw her own tearstained reflection in them, surrounded by smoke and embers.

"I understand. Thank you."

They stood, Hiroshi still weak, and she helped him down the hall, back into the cool night air. Her car was empty, and she looked around the grounds for Lin and Tarrlok- they had gone ahead without her, and Asami felt a surge of hatred bubbling within her, glancing at her father. Now that he was in clean air again, he seemed to be regaining strength, and she stopped supporting his weight, allowing him to turn towards her with a meek and hopeful expression. Her own was raw and cold, her words confident and stable, not the slightest hiccup gracing her next words.

"Take me to the factory. I want to fight with you."

* * *

"Now is not the time!" Bolin shouted in retaliation to Mako's apology. "We're not down yet, ok?"

Another hit. More rocks spraying from the cracked earth wall. Tahno looked scared out of his mind. Behind the wall, Korra heard a yelp and a stern female voice-

"You didn't have to freeze his head!"

"Why don't you focus less on their wellbeing and more on ours?" And Korra thought she'd never be so happy to hear those voices in her life, all resentment for them tossed aside.

"Lin! Tarrlok!' Korra yelped. The roaring metallic whir of a mechatank alerted her that their wall's time was up, and Bolin shielded Tahno and Mako from the shrapnel as Korra darted between the legs of the attacking robot. Lin was trying to rip into them with absolutely no success.

"Useless, Beifong," was Amon's amused reply. He was standing next to his currently suffocating Lieutenant, and broke the ice encasing his head with a swift chop from his hand. The mustachio'd man inhaled desperately, collapsing at his partner's feet.

"Korra! Get out of here!" Lin demanded. "Take them with you! Make a call and alert the task forces!"

"No," Korra said stubbornly, looking at Mako and Tahno. "No, I'm not running."

"Are you stupid?" Tarrlok asked her, his tone probably the most genuine she'd ever heard it, and together he and Lin managed to tie and freeze two of the tanks together in a horrid clusterfuck of ice and metal, so that they fell over and whirred uselessly like giant ugly dolls. It was no use- there were at least eight more of them, and Lin barely managed to dodge as she detached her cables from her armor.

"A-Asami!" Bolin ejaculated, and everyone comedically turned to look at the not-so-comedic entrance of Asami and her father, both looking pissed as hell. Korra took the moment to knock a tank off its feet with airbending, saving Lin from her momentary lapse of judgment at Asami's entrance.

"Give me the keys," Asami demanded, and with a jingle something metallic was dropped into Asami's hand by her father, who wore a smug smile, directing it right at Mako and Bolin, the former who was clutching at his temples desperately.

_Mako's losing it,_ Korra realized with horror._ And Asami…_

"Asami-" Korra started, but the raveonette ignored her and bolted to an inactive Mechatank, unlocking the side and climbing in. Mako's features turned into an enraged snarl, and he ran- ran right for Amon, but Amon turned away, a tank stepping between them, and Bolin screamed his brother's name, losing all self-control and pushing him out of the way, bending be damned, only to be crushed beneath the platinum giant.

Korra was sure her heart had stopped. She was sure everything in the room had stopped, except, no, everything was still moving, she was just deaf- Bolin's scream had broken her ears, he'd broken everything, and Korra didn't know if she'd ever hear again, if she ever wanted to hear again. Truthfully, she wished every sense in the world was cut off from her right now and she would just die, but no merciful Avatar State greeted her, no fainting cut her off from the sight.

Blood. Blood was pooling beneath him. He was stirring- still alive then, and Mako was lying on the floor, yet to turn around and see the mangled mass where his brother's legs had once been, but he was getting there- the two closest, Tarrlok and Tahno, both made movements, but Tarrlok stopped in his tracks, frozen in horror, and he turned to the side and retched, unable to deal with it. Tahno made it to Mako just in time, and with a swift knock to the head, he was out, he was blissfully unaware, and Tahno pulled him away, clutched the other boy's unconscious form protectively and looked up at the monster that had crushed Bolin, which would probably crush them too.

Korra almost hadn't noticed the tank sneaking up on her, but it was intercepted by another, one that grabbed it by the back and tossed it into the wall and punched it over and over, until it sputtered and refused to move as the other tore away at its limbs like a hungry animal.

"Asami!" roared Hiroshi, his face twisted with rage the likes of which Korra had never seen. Korra clutched her chest- it hurt, it hurt too much, and she turned to see what was going on- Lin was engaging Amon, but he had just hit her in the shoulder, no- no, he'd disabled her leg-

"Heal that boy!" Lin demanded, and Korra turned and ran irrationally, to where Tahno clutched Bolin and Tarrlok had just frozen the tank menacing them.

"Take him and run!" he yelled at Tahno, whose shaking hands struggled to hold the ex-firebender- Tarrlok lifted him like a ragdoll and placed him in Tahno's arms, pushing him towards the exit. Lin extended what looked like metal claws and swiped at Amon's back, caught his hood-

Korra didn't care. She didn't look. She threw herself into Bolin's heaving chest and pulled all the water she could from the floor, trying to salvage his pulverized legs. Tahno was running with Mako- Hiroshi tried to stop him, but Asami's tank knocked him over like a toy and the boys escaped. Korra was looking everywhere- everywhere but where she was healing, she felt like she might vomit like Tarrlok if she looked.

"I'm ok, Korra," Bolin said quietly, and Korra cried and cried, her vision going hazy, a small girl with glazed-over eyes looking at her sadly- where was she?

"He's lying," she said resolutely, and Korra screamed-

"No! No, he'll- he'll be fine-"

And she almost didn't notice Amon behind her, his hand on her neck- it was almost comforting…

* * *

Lin had seen his face. It was scarred, ugly like he claimed it was, and even though she lost- even though she felt the block building in her mind, felt the consciousness draining from her like blood from a wound, she was proud, because for just a moment, before he'd picked up the mask, before he held it back to his face and his Lieutenant's kai-stick sent a jolt through her metal-encased form, Amon had looked frightened.

* * *

Yakone had a smug look on his face.

He was going to spend the rest of his life rotting in jail, but he looked smug as hell, and Korra wanted to rip that smirk off his face until he bled himself dry.

* * *

Bolin was going to die. Korra was fading from his vision, and he tried to warn her, warn her of the leering white mask that floated in the space behind her, but she fell forward onto his chest and he smiled, because it was nice- at least they were together, at least Mako was safe.

* * *

There were only two of them left- the task force would not get here in time, him and a teenaged girl who drove like a maniac, that's all that was left, Lin Beifong was unconscious, Amon was moving on to Korra. The tanks stopped moving one-by-one as their passengers all suffered fainting spells. _Oh, who cares. Who cares? No one can see you,_ Tarrlok thought, and the Lieutenant screamed in pain as he twisted his hands and drove him into the wall._ I'll kill you all, I don't care anymore._

Equalists continued to drop like flies.

Unconscious. Unconscious except Hiroshi and Asami, both in mechatanks and fighting each other, equal and opposite forces, neither yielding. Unconscious- Korra slumped onto the earthbender, and Amon turned towards him- he braced his hands but Amon kept walking, kept moving forward, his hand was moving upwards, not towards Tarrlok's face, but towards his own- he was unclasping the mask-

* * *

Asami Sato stopped fighting. The room was filled with bodies, unconscious or dead, she wasn't sure, and only one man stood, her own father's tank piercing the window to hers because she had the audacity to care, to love that which had destroyed her family, and now he'd be the last one, because he would kill her too, and Asami was not sure she cared anymore.

"Stop, Hiroshi," a cold voice demanded, and the metal claw withdrew- three- three conscious people, her, Amon and her father, and Amon was holding Bolin- Asami broke down behind the wheel and sobbed.

* * *

"It's the middle of the night, we're kinda sleeping," Meelo's voice gurgled, before Tenzin took the phone from his son.

"Who is it?" he asked groggily, and Tahno's hyperventilating voice almost caused him to hang up, before he gushed out Tenzin's name and something incomprehensible.

"I'm sorry, what?" the airbender said in alarm, and waited for the boy to catch his breath.

"The Sato mansion…the equalists have everyone in a factory underneath the mountain, the earthbender- Bo…Bolin, he's really fucked up, excuse my language, I'm sorry, I'm- please help, please, Tenzin, Sifu, please, I'm so sorry-"

"I'll be there as soon as possible," Tenzin said urgently. "Are you safe?"

"I…I don't know, I have Mako here, he's had his bending taken away, please, Sifu-Tenzin, please hurry-"

"The two of you hide, and wait for me. Under no circumstances are you to return to that battle."

* * *

The Lieutenant was awake again, he and the recovered equalists were loading their bodies into the vehicles lined around the factory. Amon still held the earthbender. Bolin had stopped bleeding entirely, his breathing ragged and pained. He was surprised the kid was even still alive at this point, and when Amon turned and placed him gently in the back of the van next to Lin, Tarrlok and the Avatar, he glared. It was instinctual. He remembered the day he had met Amon, had come to him tearfully because he'd killed his wife- accidental, complete accident, the flames from his hands extinguishing the flame of life from her eyes- angry, she'd been so angry, he had wanted to silence her, but not permanently…

And he had been there, he'd lifted his hand with that mask's serene expression and said "I will cleanse you of your impurity," had he'd blissfully known no more of that life, that name, it was gone, he was the Lieutenant now, he had no name-

"Let me sit back there with you," he said stubbornly.

"No. You watch the Sato girl."

"She's not fighting anymore," he insisted, and it was true- Asami's lovely eyes were red and the makeup smeared on her face, her nose wrinkled miserably, and Hiroshi was ignoring her entirely, getting in the front of the vehicle containing the unconscious figures- Amon had ordered him to drive that vehicle rather than the one with Asami, and the Lieutenant wanted to scream and tear the hair out of his upper lip because he was showing them more patience and kindness than he showed his own followers and it was confusing and disgusting and he didn't know who Amon was anymore, or if he'd ever known him to begin with.

"Take their bending away," he said maliciously. "Otherwise they may attack you when they wake up."

"I will, I assure you, but we need to move quickly. The boy who escaped will undoubtedly be a thorn in our side." And he shut the door, leaving the Lieutenant the last one in the room, everyone else ready to leave, and he got in the back with Asami Sato and the equalists who were conscious (and some that had yet to wake) and was thankful now more than ever for his mask.

* * *

Hours later, Korra awoke to cell with an unfamiliar metal ceiling, but more disturbingly, a painted smile, the only company around to hear her scream.


	8. Ajna 1

warnings: mind-rape, dubious consent, violence. All in one happy chapter. Whelp. My work here is done. Also, thanks to Savagelee for proofreading this chapter.

* * *

He hadn't expected them to look for him. Perhaps Tenzin's orders to stay in the burning house weren't the wisest to obey in hindsight, especially now that there were equalists searching for them, and they had the luxury of gas-masks while he had the luxury of a useless unconscious asshole and sore arms.  
The sound of things being thrown in the hall is what told Tahno they were getting closer; it was futile to hide at this point- the fire was engulfing the mansion like a stack of matches, he didn't have the strength to carry Mako anymore, and his body was tired from fighting without bending and all the poking and prodding it had endured. Tahno dragged his unconscious companion into the nearest broom-closet and barricaded the door, tried to shove rags under the doorway so the smoke wouldn't reach them, and held his knees, miserably thinking about how the last person he wanted to die next to was Mako, in a fire of all ways.  
He tried to think of what Tenzin would do in this situation. Probably something stupid like meditation, which Tahno had never really gotten the hang of or seen a point to, but with the smoke pouring in and equalists banging shit around in the hall it was starting to sound like an OK idea, he was pretty light-headed anyway, and if he was going down he might as well go down peacefully.  
_So what now?_  
He thought of flames first. It made sense- it was starting to get hot, after all, but for some reason the heat brought a foreign emotion to him- an irrational hate that boiled over like unattended tea, and he wanted to squelch those flames so badly…  
Tahno shook his head. Mako was beginning to stir. For some reason the first thought he had was choking him, which didn't really make sense in this context, so he tried to calm himself down and meditate some more.  
The fire roared in his ears, the unfamiliar visions invading him again. A man stood before him, dressed in ancient garb, green robes, his sallow face and austere beard a contrast to his smug expression. He reached for him, and Tahno tried to jerk away, but the man had his chin, he was whispering something sour to him now, and Tahno tried to fight back, couldn't fight back.  
A pain erupted in his chest, and Tahno screamed loudly. The flames beyond the door were crackling sinisterly, and Mako was on his side, trying to get up, not that he could do anything about them now.  
Fire. He was going to die in a fire. They were banging on the door, trying to break it down. Die or be captured. For some reason dying sounded more rational, but his head was light, the smoke was suffocating, before the air cleared and an overwhelming sea of orange swam before him, took him into its arms.  
Tahno thought of forests in autumn before he blacked out.

* * *

The Lieutenant was confessedly obsessed with his job. His admiration for Amon extended beyond mere loyalty and reached lovingly into the territory of hero worship, but the thing about heroes is, there is a tendency to lose your faith in them when they fail your absurdly high expectations.  
Amon had attempted to turn cheek to his questions and leave him empty- 'We will deal with the how and why later.'  
_Tell me. Why are they still benders?_  
The bending of the Councilman, Chief of Police, and Avatar will be removed publicly.  
_The bloodbending you resisted?_  
Willpower. Spiritual assistance.  
_The injuries? The earthbender boy?_  
The Avatar had stopped the bleeding, obviously.  
Lieutenant fiddled with the key nervously, threw open the gate to the man's cell- his hands were tied behind his back, legs bound, long hair unkempt and expression empty.  
"You know something," he spat, and Tarrlok looked up at him almost pathetically, mournfully, and it made the Lieutenant even angrier. "Tell me," he hissed.  
The councilman's usually nasty expression was ponderous.  
"I don't think I will," he murmured, and the Lieutenant walked forward and grabbed his robes, shaking him roughly.  
"I'll kill you if you say nothing," he growled, but Tarrlok's head lolled and he just stared forward, a smirk starting to tug at his lips finally, like he found this very amusing.  
"Amon will be upset if you kill me."  
"Like hell he will!"  
"Is he your hero?" Tarrlok whispered, and the Lieutenant wanted to smash his prettyboy face into the wall until it was a bloody pulp, almost did, but the Councilman's next words stopped him short.  
"Go ahead, but at least untie me first. What's the point in preaching fairness of you kill a bound man?"  
"You've had your fight, bloodbender!" he shouted, clawing at his own arms. Tarrlok's eyes widened for a moment, then he focused them, a bit of hope and determination lighting up his paling face.  
"I won't bloodbend. I will give you a chance to fight me 'fairly,'" he sighed, as though even without use of his bending the Lieutenant wouldn't stand a chance, and it was enraging because this man was -nothing- without his bending, he would be nothing soon enough anyway, and why not? Why not, it's not like Amon was worth trusting, even if this man was a sleeze no matter which way you painted him.  
"Or perhaps I'll even tell you the truth if you give me some breathing room. These ropes are uncomfortable," he said carelessly.  
The truth.  
It was maddeningly within reach and in order to get it he'd have to do something incredibly stupid, like let this smug-ass man loose. And he knew, knew deep down inside that he was lying scum, and that he wouldn't get the truth out of him even if he tortured him, but the Lieutenant was so mad at this point, so resentful, he didn't care.  
Tarrlok seemed vaguely amused as his arms were untied, then his legs. He stood up and stretched- he was a formidably built man, and would probably put up an interesting fight-  
But then, there was no fight. The Lieutenant felt a choke-hold on his throat, felt his blood screaming against his skin and he was thrown into the wall, and he knew he'd made a mistake, that it had been stupid to trust him for even a second.  
"You lied," he hissed.  
"Runs in the family," Tarrlok mused. "But don't be too resentful...your precious Amon would do the same thing if you lost your usefulness to him."  
He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see, his own body was threatening to shut down, and then it was- a velvet blanket fell across the world, a that horrid smirk the last thing to fade from sight, Tarrlok's words meaningless in the darkness of his rapidly, fading consciousness.  
"But I won't kill you. First I'll give you the chance to understand why heroes don't exist."

* * *

_The greatest illusion of all is the illusion of separation._

* * *

In the equalist headquarters, there were rooms for cases like Asami Sato. They were called the rooms of Spiritual Reconstruction. Each room was a small area of about 15'X15', and it consisted of only two things- a chair, to which the 'Problem' was strapped, facing a blank white wall, and a projector, situated above their head and beaming down. There were no windows, just slots in the door, no lights save for the projector, and no sounds but the ones issuing from the speakers on either side of their head and the steady click of the film reel.  
Asami would try to close her eyes, but the second she did, there was always a jolt from the chair, sharp and painful, forcing her to look at the images on the screen; Amon's powerful voice speaking to her, rough and imposing. Asami detested the sound of it, almost as much as the images she was being shown, that flashed by sometimes for tiny fragments of a second, sometimes for agonizingly long minutes.  
Burn victims. People with crushed limbs, people with severe frostbite, people who had been drowned in the middle of the street. Houses burned, lives ruined, buildings collapsed. A child with a deep purple scar across his chest. A group of triads crushing a man under a pillar of earth, his arms twitching like a helpless insect. In between frames of horror and gore were images of equalists- of equalists helping to rebuild, handing out pamphlets, Amon speaking at a rally in front of starry-eyed nonbenders. Asami closed her eyes again, she bit her tongue to keep from screaming, the pain forcing her eyes open, the soothing voice repeating the same words over and over, and she could not cover her ears, not block out the sound.  
'Your soul is impure, but you will be cleansed. You belong with the Equalists. You are weak now, but through us you will find freedom from oppression. You will be welcomed among our ranks, accepted as one of the children of the revolution. Amon is the solution."

* * *

The scream that punctured the air like a balloon was cut off by his hand, clamped over her mouth and pressing down heavily, so that her nostrils flared in desperation, and Korra looked up at him, face reddening from anger and lack of air.  
Amon removed his hand for a moment, then pressed a single finger to her lips- 'quiet.'  
Korra obeyed. She looked around the room, seeing her own muscular arms caked with blood. The memories of the battle were flooding back to her- Mako's bending gone, Bolin's injuries, her own loss- airbending, she had airbended in her desire to disable rather than harm Hiroshi, but she regretted it now, she remembered the look of fury he had shot his own traitorous daughter-  
"Are you done remembering, Korra?"  
She nodded. He removed his finger from her lips.  
"My bending," she croaked.  
"You still have it...for now. I would rather make an example of you than remove it quietly."  
"The others-"  
"Are safe, so long as you do as you're told."  
Her throat was too dry to properly swallow. Her eyes were welling up like an unwanted monsoon approaching, she willed herself not to cry when she spoke the next words, but she had to know.  
"Is Bolin...alive?"  
Amon was quiet. Then he brought his hand to the back of his head, in a seemingly nervous or irritated gesture. She hated when he did things like that- acted like a human, not like some monster whose movements were impossible to evade or predict. If anything, it made his horrible actions worse.  
"He's alive," he said casually.  
"Prove it," Korra demanded stubbornly, and his eyes darted back to her face, and she became aware that her sitting position was vulnerable- even though she had her knees tightly clamped within her arms, chin resting upon them and looking up furiously, she was hardly an intimidating sight to behold, body smeared with blood and hair a mess.  
"I'll show you where your friend is."  
"At what expense?"  
"Oh, I'm sure I can think of an appropriate cost. But for now your emotional wellbeing is my concern- the cost can come later."  
Korra narrowed her eyes. She knew what kind of cost he was talking about, he had made it quite obvious by this point, but she didn't care...he couldn't do anything worse to her than he already had, short of taking away her bending, and he still hadn't done it- she still felt the swirling of ancient energy emanating from her very being, and she knew that it was only a matter of time before that was ripped from her as well- at least she could see Bolin before then, tell him she was sorry...  
"I don't care," she responded callously. Whatever it is, you're going to do it anyway."  
She hated the way the light glinted off his mask, how it looked almost human from certain angles, a mannequin that could express dissent or amusement by the mere tilt of his head. She hated a lot of things about Amon, but for some reason, she didn't hate -him.- He fascinated her, the way arctic wolves tearing at a carcass could fascinate her, and his words, his actions, everything about him, they were so deliberated that she was starting to wonder if he knew the meaning of the word 'regret.'  
He opened the door to the cell and she removed her tangled arms from around her legs, standing up and following him through the door, watching her feet the entire time. As much as she wanted to run or attack, Bolin's life was still on the line, and she did not trust Amon to keep his promises. They walked past leering equalists- a walk of shame indeed, and she could practically feel them relish her humiliation, her worry, her twisting hands and gritted teeth. She wondered what had happened to these people to turn them into such bitter creatures.  
He led her into a large room- what she could only assume was the equalist equivalent of a hospital ward, and closed the door. Filled with beds, odd technology, and a large sink near where they stood, it was empty except for the still figure on the nearest bed, whom Korra would have mistaken for dead were it not for the subtle flush of blood in his cheeks, the faintest rise and fall of his muscular chest. He was alive...alive, but his legs were gone, and Korra covered her mouth and almost gagged but she refused to show weakness in front of this man.  
"What did you do to him?" she cried, and she could only imagine the condescending look of frustration he shot her under the mask.  
"Only what was necessary. Or would you rather he die from infection?"  
The bandages wrapped around his legs were suspiciously without the taint of blood. The amputation had been done cleanly and efficiently, and Korra was surprised and slightly horrified because she'd always imagined nonbending methods of surgery to be intense and bloody and painful.  
"So...he's okay then? He won't...Die?"  
"He won't die, but his life won't be the same. If only he hadn't been so careless-"  
"You think it's careless that he tried to protect his brother!?" Korra spat.  
"I think it's foolish to lose your head in a situation someone you care for is in danger, yes. Perhaps it's best that a fool like him can't make another misstep."  
Korra raised her hand to hit him, flames flickering in her palm, but he made no move to protect himself, sensing her weakness. She wanted to burn him alive, but part of that seemed too ironic, like it would prove his point about her, and she hesitated in midair, flames dissipating, and instead trembled and grabbed a fistful of his shirt, tears oozing from her eyes like fat pearls and splashing onto her already bloodstained chest.  
"Why did you save him? If you think we're fools, why? What's the point in keeping us alive?"  
He grabbed her wrists and looked back at her with such an intense gaze that she wanted to jerk away, but she couldn't- she had to hear his answer.  
"I don't kill unless it's necessary. A fool does not necessarily deserve death...just reconstruction of the mind, so they are no longer foolish."  
"What is wrong with you?" she said quietly. It wasn't even a question at this point, a statement, and she did not expect an answer.  
"A great deal is wrong with me, young Avatar, and the same with you. Perhaps this is why we are so well-matched. But the flaws of our characters are not what you should concern yourself with at this moment."  
His voice had that tone to it again, the one that she frequently dreamed about by this point, the one that twisted her up inside. She wasn't sure how she felt- she knew disgusted and enraged would be the proper words, but unfortunately it wasn't so, the true feelings of apprehension and eagerness squelching the negative ones like a dying ember. She glanced sadly at Bolin, hopefully dreaming something nice, then back up at Amon, who was staring at her with a peculiar look in his eye, as though he was starting to find her pitiful, and she wondered if he was tiring of the game, and would end it now- take away her bending at that would be that.  
"What should I worry about? Bolin is fine. Unless you mean my bending, there's really nothing I can do to stop you."  
"So you have learned something."  
She gave a resigned sigh. The feeling of something cold on her chin- his hand, she realized, forcing her to make eye contact again, it made her jump for a moment.  
"It's almost sad," he said quietly, and she bit her lip.  
"What is? Isn't this what you wanted? Compliance? For me to see reason? Though I honestly can't see the reason in any of this."  
"Violence is a necessary means to a peaceful end. I'm sure you of all people can understand that."  
Korra inhaled sharply.  
"Go ahead and do what you're going to do, then. I won't even resist this time. Does that please you?"  
"If you expect a straight answer from that you still misunderstand my intentions, Avatar." His finger moved away from her chin, trailing down her throat menacingly, but only the slightest graze.  
Korra lifted her chin, allowed his other arm to snake around her back and pull her close, and she remembered her last moments of consciousness, the thought she had- _this is almost nice._  
"Aren't you going to take me back to my cell?" she whispered into his chest, and she heard him chuckle again- another horrid confirmation that he was human, had a sense of humor, perverse as it may be. "I told you I don't care what you do to me, but Bolin-"  
"Is unconscious," Amon said with a lightly amused tone, and allowed her enough room to survey the look of horror as it crossed her features and probably realized that Korra still had some fight left in her- that her compliance was a resistance of its own, and damnit how was he always once step ahead of her?  
"That's-"  
"Disgusting? Says the girl who thinks I'm interested in her filthy, blood-soaked body."  
He pushed her away suddenly, almost knocked her over, and she shook with a mix of rage and humiliation. His attempt to provoke her was successful- she tried to airbend, to knock him from his feet, but her attack missed him frustratingly, he sidestepped with ease and he grabbed her wrist, pulled her over to the sink and turned the water on, forcing her head under the flow. She yelped loudly but it was drowned out by the icy water.  
"But we can't have that, Avatar Korra...you see, if it looks like I neglect my prisoners it reflects poorly on me," he hissed through the slot in his mask. She thrashed, tried to bend the water but it sloshed to the floor with a dull splat as he disabled her arms, and she choked, a mouthful of liquid clogging her throat. Amon pulled her head out of the sink by her hair. Water dripped down her face, a blur of emotions, water sputtering from her mouth and dribbling down her chin as she coughed, water running down the back of her neck as he stroked the top of her sopping head.  
Grabbing a sponge and holding it under the faucet, he began to wipe the mud from her arms, the blood from her hands, she was useless, her limbs weak and disabled and so she allowed him to clean her with a resentful pout, slumped against the wall and looking away from him. Amon was far less violent when she didn't resist, but it wasn't really reassuring because he had a tendency to provoke her into violence as well.  
When her arms were done, he moved the sponge to her neck; the water cold and shocking, his frighteningly gentle touch making her heart beat frantically. He cleaned her face too- like she was a kid, wringing out the sponge in the sink, the water stained a filthy rust from blood and dirt, then ran his thumb across her cheek as though feeling the clean skin, and she looked back at him apprehensively.  
"Are you done," she said quietly.  
"your clothes are still dirty" he said carelessly, and she gulped, looking at him resolutely. He pulled her shirt up over her head- it was hard, because her arms were useless noodles, and when he tossed it aside she shook her wet hair like Naga after a bath, disliking the feeling of water dripping against the newly exposed skin.  
"Am I still disgusting?" she said before she could stop herself- it was just her nature to snark, and it probably hadn't been wise, because Amon's eyes were hungry and already spoke the words she knew would follow-  
"No, I find this quite pleasing, Avatar."  
His hand ran across her stomach, splayed slightly, pushed up past her bra. She told herself to ignore it, but it was impossible, his touch was so light, almost tender, and she remembered the night of the probending match and once again blurted out her thoughts without concern.  
"Why did you kiss me? That night at the arena...you pressed your mask to my lips."  
His hand paused. Her skin tingled, she ached with a shameful longing, Korra gazed at him with a look she pretended was condescending, instead probably appeared embarrassed.  
"A kiss requires lips," he said smoothly. "A mask does not have lips. It cannot express things like affection, or desire."  
"Then what was that?" she asked in bafflement.  
"Another way to bridge the distance between us."  
Korra looked away from his eyes, In the shadows of the mask, she could hardly tell what color they were. His hand started moving again, she leaned back, opened her mouth and let out a heavy, shuddering sigh, and he stopped again, so that she looked back at him with a regretfully needy expression.  
"Would you like me to kiss you?"  
Korra wondered if her ears were still waterlogged, or if she was insane, or perhaps Amon was insane, but no, she was pretty sure she'd heard him correctly, and a morbid need to understand his humanity was overwhelming all the parts of her that screamed no. She shot a desperate look at Bolin. He was still unconscious, eyes still closed, face pale.  
"Why?" she pleaded, voice dry.  
"Do you want to know my emotions, Avatar? I suppose you are too afraid."  
"I'm not afraid," she said resolutely, stubbornly, which he took to mean yes- the hand not on her breast pushed up the mask a bit, just enough to cover his eyes but reveal his lips. The hint of scar tissue glinted faintly at one corner, and it displeased her to know he wasn't lieing, just as his hesitation in pressing his lips to hers displeased her, because it wasn't monstrous or threatening- it was gentle and patient. At first she tried to bite his tongue, but she couldn't do it; her mouth felt like it was stuck in an open position, and his fingers pinched her nipple gently as he explored her mouth, and she found herself kissing back.  
_Do you want to know my emotions?_  
What emotions? She felt the hotness of his breath as it mingled with hers, felt the coldness of his teeth as the tugged gently on her lower lip, felt the shock oh his tongue brushing hers carefully- she was too eager, and he was patient, too much so, she wanted it done and over with, whatever he was going to do to her, she couldn't take the teasing anymore.  
_What are you trying to tell me?_  
She could not see his eyes, could only feel his lips smile against her own, before he pulled away in alarm, the sound of the door bursting open too sudden for her to comprehend, the sink beside them exploding into shrapnel; she hurriedly pulled her bra back over her exposed chest and watched in shock as the water that pooled across the floor rose and drove into him like a tidal wave, knocking the mask from his face.


	9. Ajna 2

You get a double-update of Smirk and TTW today! Which is only because I forgot to post TTW sooner, and if you're following me on tumblr you already read it. Sorry D: TTW is the sequel to Smirk, by the way, and can be read independently or at the same time as Smirk. They're standalone pieces, TTW just happens in the same universe 7 years later.

umm...other than that, I"m sorry it took so long, and that there's not much Amorra in this chapter. It's more like KorraXeveryone else, Makahno Bosami, Amobolin and AmoLin because EVERYTHING I WRITE REEKS OF SEXUAL TENSION WHAT IS THIS

* * *

When the world came spiraling back into Mako's vision, there was hardly any doubt in his mind that something terrible had transpired. Perhaps he had expected, hoped even, to feel uncertain upon his awakening, to feel confusion in light of the events he could only imagine, on top of the ones he had witnessed firsthand. Amon, that bastard...the finality of the act resonated with him, Mako knew an integral part of himself was missing, the flames of his soul smothered under the grip of that man's pale hand. He tried anyway, lifted his own hand weakly above his face and splayed his fingers and begged for the tiniest spark with all his might, but he was miming the actions like a fool, for no fire would come. Mako rolled onto his side. The Wolfbats player, Tahno, the asshole he'd spent most of his probending career detesting, lay peacefully on his back one bed over, but there was no Bolin in sight, no Bolin, no Korra, no Asami.

He threw his feet over the side of the bed, the breezy cotton slipping from his skin, it was warm in the room, the heater was turned on, and Mako went to the window and looked out- Air-temple Island, then, he recognized the orange robes of the woman outside feeding the birds, the heavy swell of her belly straining against her robes signaling her as Tenzin's wife Pema.

Perhaps they were in another room, he thought, and so Mako paced around the halls, opening door after empty door to meditation rooms, healing rooms, a bathroom...

He stepped outside, naked chest stinging against the icy atmosphere, started walking towards another building on the complex like a zombie, but a voice called out, stopped him in his tracks.

"Mako?"

Mako turned slowly, hopefully, but it was the woman from earlier, hands clutched gently before her chest, eyebrows creased in worry. She was young, but strands of gray hair clutched at her scalp, a signal of the weight of Tenzin's burden shouldered by both of them.

"Yes?" Mako said quietly, just now noticing his bare footprints in the snow.

"What are you doing? You should be resting!" she said, rushing forward, but the pain of her efforts caused her to cringe, and Mako felt terrible, holding out his arms and bracing her rather than the other way around. She led him back inside- or vice-versa, it wasn't clear at this point, and he paused outside the door to his recovery room, looking at his feet. The first question to escape his lips surprised him, but not Pema, who shook her head lightly...'where's Korra?' He'd meant to say, Bolin, his brother, or Asami, his girlfriend; right?

"Mako..."

Her statement was something between disapproval, pity, and worry.

"So she's captured?"

"Only you and Tahno came back. Tenzin pulled you out of the fire just in time."

"Fire?"

"There was a fire in the Sato Mansion. Tahno called Tenzin and said that the two of you had escaped the battle and hid there."

"He should have stayed-"

"Don't be stupid," Pema said sternly, shocking him...she was surprisingly intimidating, and Mako took a step back from the door, remembering Tahno was on the other side, and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"My best friends...my brother...the girl I love...they were left to die, or lose their bending, or...I don't even know what, at the hands of that man, and you're telling me I'm here and safe and sound and I'm supposed to just sit back and take that-"

"I'm telling you not to lose your head!" Pema snapped, clutching her belly again, and Mako looked at her and thought _soon...she's going to have that kid really soon_, and what an awful time to give birth to another member of a nearly extinct race when the Avatar wasn't here to protect them...not...not that it was Korra's fault at all, she'd fought bravely, she'd done everything he could to save them, it was him who was weak, getting his bending taken away…letting her get captured…

"The girl you love," murmured Pema, and Mako's jagged eyebrows knit together, and he realized right away that she'd come to the unfortunately correct assumption.

"I was talking about Asami."

"I've seen the look you give Korra whenever you come to visit. You're lovestruck, kid," she grumbled.

"So what if I am?"

Pema's face was luminous with irritation.

"Asami Sato?"

"And I'm supposed to notice her when Korra was throwing herself at me a week ago...someone like Korra..."

Pema looked guilty.

"It was my fault, ok? I told her she needed to pursue you with the intention of you cutting things off early with the Sato girl, before you could hurt both of them-"

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone-"

"Which is why you stayed with Asami?"

"You didn't see that look on her face when she said she liked me...that she'd never felt safe before..."

"Staying with someone just because it makes them happy is selfish! You hear me?! Selfish! She doesn't want your pity, Mako, she wants you to return her feelings!"

"I'm not sure about my feelings anymore...but maybe..." She was thankfully silent, allowed him to collect his thoughts before he returned her soft gaze, his own rather weak and unsure.

"Maybe it's best for me to put those thoughts on the backburner. I do...I do really like both of them, but Korra...Korra's just..."

"Special? She is, Mako, but she's not the flawless person you think she is, nor should you idealize her as such. Korra has a dark side to her, and you may not be ready for the degree of demons she has to fight."

"I'm not," he confessed. "Not so long as Bolin needs me-"

"That too- you can't just smother him either! What if he resents you!?"

"He needs me-"

"Of course he needs you, but don't underestimate how much of this is you needing him."

Mako grimaced. He put his hand on the door, pushed open the room. Tahno was sitting up on the side of his bed, looking out the window. Mako didn't even care how much he'd heard at this point.

"Are you done making me feel like an awful person?"

"That wasn't my intention, Mako-"

"Well it was the end result."

"I'm being stern because I'm a mother! I have four kids, Mako, and another on the way! You're still a child yourself-"

"Well I raised a kid too, and as you've so kindly pointed out, I still am one. Do don't treat me like I'm stupid either," he snapped, and threw himself onto the edge of his bed, covering his hair with a pillow. Tahno turned towards Pema.

"I'm hungry," he whined bluntly.

"I'll get you some food," she said rather stiffly, closing the door harder than necessary.

* * *

In the time it took to blow Amon off his feet, Tarrlok had grabbed Korra. His mind was numb at this point. Whatever he had just witnessed would be erased as promptly as possible; it was null, it meant nothing, he could ask her later if he even wanted to know. He grabbed Korra's arm and tried to yank her down the hall but she turned to look at him, Amon that was, clamping the mask back over his face as rouge-stained water dripped onto his tunic.

_Good_ Tarrlok thought, and promptly hit Korra with a rush of blood to the head that caused her to faint into his arms. He threw her over his shoulder, a useless doll, and ran- bloodbended everyone in his way without digression.

_Nobody will believe an equalist,_ he thought smugly. Then his glee melted into anger- _And if Amon outs me, I out him. _And then panic- _I don't want either of us to…_

He'd work more on that part later. Right now he had two asses to save- pity about Lin, he was finally starting to like her, but Korra was enough of a useless burden.

_Half-baked Avatar…_

The image of limbs interwined-

_Don't even think about her then._

_Don't think about any of them._

* * *

Korra's mind wracked with pain, inflicted by the man with the angry eyes.

"You mastered all four elements, but before me even the avatar state is helpless."

"Yakone" she whispered, and felt Aang's despair.

* * *

Meditation was irritating.

Tahno was pretty bored of it already, since he'd been expecting a repeat of last night, and all he saw was the inside of his eyelids and the skeletal remains of the outside world captured in light and shadow. He opened his eyes and saw orange- for a moment it brought him a brilliant thrill of knowledge, but it was just Tenzin taking a seat next to him.

"Tahno…I know you've been here for a few days but uh…I just wanted to let you know…thank you…for trying so hard. I can tell this doesn't come naturally to you, and that you're putting fourth the effort. I understand the issue with the hair…you know, when I was younger I had a full head of- anyway, what I'm saying, child…you're not really a child, are you, you're quite grown, but I wanted to express my…my concern…you should really be resting-"

"Sifu-Tenzin," Tahno interrupted morosely. "Last night I had a vision. Why can't I have one again?"

Tenzin's eyebrows were like furry creatures, jumping up in surprise and then shriveling downwards in apprehension.

"It doesn't quite work like that, Tahno. You may have hallucinated due to extreme stress-"  
"No. It was my past life. I'm sure of it."

"You are? I…I mean, there is potential…within all of us…perhaps a persistent and strong soul resonates within you."

"I see," Tahno said quietly.

"Did he…or she-"

"It was a he," Tahno retorted cockily.

"Did he speak to you?"

"No. All I thought of was…well…it will sound really weird and bigoted. I felt an emotion like…I hated firebenders. Hated them irrationally."

"Are you sure that was-"  
"I'm not an elemental supremacist! Even if water is the best," he said under his breath.

"Tenzin!" came a desperate voice.

"I'm sorry, Tahno, this will have to wait-"

"Tenzin, come quickly! Councilman Tarrlok has returned with the Avatar!"

* * *

They'd performed a raid on the building Tarrlok has escaped from as soon as the police were informed, but there was no sign of equalist activity. Two days later and Korra, Mako, and Tahno stood witness to the true power of Republic City's council.

"A mandatory curfew will be imposed on all non-benders. Anyone with suspicions regarding equalist affiliations will be detained without question until we have reason to believe they are innocent of all charges."

* * *

The second day, when the orders were issued, Korra had threatened the councilwoman representing the fire nation, and was put under house arrest.

* * *

The third day, people started protesting. Nonbenders didn't show up to their jobs. Rallies were held in the streets, people were arrested en masse. Peaceful protesters. Not even equalists, they put up no fight, and Tarrlok arrested them all.

That bastard hadn't saved her. He'd taken her as his political hostage. Every time he looked at her, knowing when she wanted to speak desperately, to denounce his bigotry, he'd flash her that treacherous shit-eating grin and she'd shiver because he _knew_, and what he knew could ruin her to the core.

* * *

The fourth day, she overheard Tenzin say to Pema that Tarrlok wasn't even searching for the new headquarters. She locked herself in her room and retched, imagining what Bolin could be right now, what might have become of Asami, or the brave Chief of Police. Of all the people to escape, no one deserved to be back there with that man than the two that had wormed their way out, but nobody knew. Tarrlok told them they had bravely fought together, pumped their egos full of hers until she had nowhere to go but down. Even her house-arrest spat- Korra was in a fragile state, he had insisted, due to the event which had robbed her of two of her dearest friends. He smiled all the while, and Korra was starting to get unnerved by it too. It never stopped.

"A way to bridge the distance between us," Korra remembered, and wondered whose mask she hated more.

* * *

The fifth day, Korra snuck into the men's dorm. She shook Mako awake and he rolled out of bed in a combative stance. Tahno shrieked and flung himself out of his bed as well, while Mako adjusted his vision to take in her form. She was fully dressed.

"Korra," he rasped.

"I can't take it anymore. I'm going to look for them. Are you coming with me?"

"Uhvatar, there is a curfew for us nonbenders."

The word shocked Mako to the bones, as though in his dreary half-sleep he had forgotten. Then-

"Fuck that. I'm a firebender, and I always will be. I'm looking for my brother and Asami."

He recovered magnificently, Korra's heart aching dully, remnants of the first real crush she'd ever had. He was already pulling his day-shirt over his chest and fastening his scarf when it came out. Tahno hesitated, though, and Korra said, not unkindly-

"You don't owe us anything, Tahno. You don't have to come."

The two of them turned to leave, Tahno still as a statue in the moonlight, and just as pale. Korra caught his eye- he was looking mopey, but he immediately grinned when she did.

"Ok, I'll come. You don't have to beg me or anything."

* * *

Breaking out of the island was easy, making her way through the police-infested city was not. All three of their faces were well-known by now, and Korra bore Tahno's subconscious warning to mind- _they're nonbenders now. _Where the raid had been performed was in the seedier part of town, and they were ambushed almost immediately after entering the premises, but not by equalists- metalbenders.

It was uncannily familiar, down to the metal cables knocking her off her feet and dragging her across the floor a good measure. Tahno grunted and Mako thrashed and they too were bound, but only briefly once Saikhan realized who they were.

"We were told you might try this," he said hesitantly. "Here's the intruders, Councilman,"

The new Chief shot Korra a regretful look that only served to make him pathetic, because he _wasn't Lin, damn it._

Tarrlok approached them. Unlike Amon he was brisk and untheatrical, he did not touch her, he simply gestured for the police to let them go.

"Korra and her friends are clearly distraught. Send them home," came Tarrlok's cool reply.

"No," growled Mako, and brandished his hand dramatically. Everyone paused for a minute, looked at him like he was a child who had done something foolish, the silence only broken when a cop snickered. Korra watched Mako tense up and grab his shoulders, a humiliated flush smearing his features as his pupils rapidly shrunk in size.

"They're out past curfew. If you don't leave, I'll have to arrest you. Come now, we'll see you home-"

"Like hell you will! I'm staying here until Bolin is back, or until they take me where he is! Even if they capture me too, I'm going to find my brother."

Tarrlok looked irritated now, a crease growing across his forehead. Korra realized a few strands of hair were coming out of his usually well-kept ponytails, as though he hadn't been taking care of himself to his usual anal-retentive degree. "Arrest them," he said in disgust, Mako's visage an obvious eyesore to him by now. "They're out past curfew. The Avatar will be returned home, by force if necessary.

"Why do you hate them so much?!" Korra shouted as both were handcuffed, even Tahno who had done nothing but look mutinous. "They're on our side! They were…they were benders too!"

Nothing. Tarrlok just looked at her blankly, the swirl of thousands of counterproductive feelings flashing in his eyes and she said it again, downtrodden this time.

"Why? Why do you hate nonbenders?"

"Don't be absurd, Korra. I don't hate nonbenders. Both of my parents were. Nonbending that is," he said airily. "What I hate are little ants who run against my Pai Sho set when I'm trying to contemplate my next move. Your friends are annoying to me, and you are quickly becoming annoying as well."

"We could have been a good team, Tarrlok," she whispered, watching the police take the boys away, Tahno looking back at her meaningfully before being ushered forward.

"We still are, Korra," he said, determinedly, too quietly to be heard by anyone but her, and she found herself growing in fury-

"Why are you doing this? This is corrupt! This is-"

"If you had to choose the lesser of two evils-"

"I don't choose evil at all-"

"You don't always have a choice."

Korra allowed her hands to hang loosely at her sides, her gaze directed at her feet.

"I'm protecting the weak from corruption. He will poison their minds, Avatar, because the weak are corruptible when offered power."

* * *

Bolin sat in a chair in the hospital ward of a sunlit building, facing a wall. For the past few days, he had been tended to by equalists, all questions of who and where and when shrugged off until he pulled at his hair and screamed at them to get out, not caring if his wounds festered.

The next person to visit him was Amon. To his surprise, Amon sat in a chair next to him and put his hand on his own chin, gazing out at the skyline. Bolin wondered where they were- the buildings were vaguely familiar, but all the poor parts of Republic City started to meld together after a while.

"Your brother is dead, child. He perished in a fire at the Sato mansion."

The words tensed Bolin so much that he feared he might never move again. It took him only a second to gibber in reply.

"No way. No way, Mako would never-"  
"He was unconscious, and we were unable to retrieve him in time-"

"Prove it!" Bolin shouted, pointing his stubby finger and prodding the man's chest, and beyond the narrowing of eyes, Amon paid him no mind, simply brushed his hand away and looked at him with blatant scrutiny, as though he were under a microscope.

"You want to see his body?"

Bolin covered his mouth.

"I didn't think so," Amon said, returning to his 'contemplative' stance. "I don't believe it is prudent to dwell on this subject further. Your brother is dead, and your friend Asami captured. You are alive- unwhole, but alive."

"Did you take my bending?"

"Yes."

"I'm really…I'm really nothing now."

Amon put his hand on Bolin's shoulder while he cried. Bolin was too agonized to shrug it off. No matter how much of a monster Amon was, he had spared him, and his friends too, even though he was a useless burden, and he had tried to save Mako too…poor Mako...

"Be reborn, Bolin. Help the cause that saved your life."

"I could never…I'd never betray my friends."

"Is it betrayal if you all walk the same path?"

The door creaked open.  
"Bolin," came a sweet voice. Bolin looked up. A girl approached, long wavy hair tied up in a ponytail and falling in wisps around her face, a bomber jacket hugging her torso and leather pants completing the look- the posterchild of equalist beauty, fortitude and charisma, her father stood behind her proudly, a bandage plastered to the back of his balding head.

"Asami?"

She nodded and smiled.

"Please join the cause, Bolin. We'll make everything better for you…I promise."

"Asami…" Bolin said sadly.

"The mansion burned down, Bolin. I have nothing now. You and I are truly equals."

Disregarding the protective hand on her shoulder, she ran forward with a playful smile, she reached her hand for his and their fingers intertwined like pale baby snakes, and he trusted her, because what choice did he have? And Hiroshi Sato smiled and talked about 'new legs' for Bolin, and how Bolin's spiritual reconstruction would be even faster than his currently doting daughter's, whose had taken five painful days…

* * *

"They arrested so many people they don't even have enough cells," Mako noted. "But that didn't mean they had to put me with _you_."

Tahno opened one eye and peered at him from on the floor. Mako was lying back on his cot, staring at a stain on the surface of the bunk above him.

"Don't worry, I dislike you too," Tahno said with a hint of his old flair, chin stuck up and nasty smile creeping across his features. "You're a spoiled brat who uses the people who need him for self-gratification."

"Spoiled?!" Mako sputtered

"Oh, I know what you're going to say…street-rat, raised his brother, beyond humble means…that doesn't mean you're not a spoiled little shi-"

Mako had stepped down from his bed, grabbed him by the collar.

"And where do you come from, rich boy, that makes you so different?"

"I wasn't always rich," he said with a shrug, and Mako let him down none-too gently.

"A roof over your head? Food on the table?"

"Didn't have a table. Roof leaked a lot. Food was nasty…I'm really not a fan of fried swamp-bloaters. Hardly had clean water. Sick all the time- mosquitos, you know. Dad passed away from Malaria. Mom and I stowed away on a government boat that was trying to 'convert' the tribe. I was five, though, so you don't have to look so horrified. She married rich and old, the old man croaked and she got all his money. So I don't really give a shit about all that."

Mako watched him, unable to hide the growing pity on his face.

"You have a bleeding heart, but it makes you an asshole. You always want to save people even if they don't need saving. You're clingy. But I understand you, I guess. Doesn't mean I like you. Your first resort is always violence- that's why we're in this mess."

"And you're a cheater who used his bending to take advantage of people!"

"You've never used your bending in a threatening manner? Never mugged rich folks for money? People like your girlfriend, Asami-"

"That's not-"

"Your parents were killed by firebenders, right?"

Mako swallowed hard. He nodded. Why not? They weren't getting out of here anytime soon.

"Doesn't it bother you when you firebend? When you see people's looks of terror? Fire is the most commonly abused element. It was used to wage genocide against the air nomads and 100 years of war against the earth kingdom…"

"History nut, are you?"

"It doesn't bother you, then?"

"Should it?"

Both were silent.

"Even if you are right…if I'm an awful person, and abused my power...let's say that's true. That I mugged innocent people, that I've used firebending to threaten people...then am I just…better off this way?"

Tahno held onto his knees and stared at the wall.

"That's up to you to decide."

"What about you?"

"Hn?"

"Do you think you're better in a position where you can't abuse your power?"

Tahno genuinely put thought into his response, to the degree Mako almost asked him again, since it took him so long to come up with one.

"Ever since I was a kid, people always listened to me. They said I had a way with words. I changed my voice, too, you know? Hid my Foggy Swamp accent, taught myself to talk like a city boy. Girls and boys both flocked to me. Now that I think about it…I didn't really need bending to get people to listen to me. I had strong opinions about things…used to be really down-to-earth, too, before shit went to my head. If I think about it…I'm still the same person I was, without bending."

"You're all right."  
"What?"

"I think you're all right, Tahno. I don't know. I feel like I misjudged you."

"You didn't. I was a terrible person. I reveled in it too."

"I've never told anyone this, Tahno. Bolin used to ask me what our parents looked like and…I…I always lied. I really don't remember them at all.  
Mako was crying now, a pitiful shell of his cocky self, and Tahno couldn't bring himself to hate him anymore.

"All I remember is the face of the man who killed them, and all I can do is fuel every bit of what I do into thoughts of avenging them, and protecting what I have left."

"You remind me a lot of someone," Tahno said quietly, and neglected the intimate details- that it was himself, or that other him, the one that had screamed in the back of his mind when he almost perished in flames.

_They can take everything from you_

_But they can't take your mind._

* * *

The rally was held at whim in a public district. Those who attempted to intervene, including a great portion of both police forces, were added to the line which started with Chief Beifong, until the council was forced to congregate and call them off for lost. Amon was broadcasting it on the radio, like a spectacle that hopefully Tenzin's children would be spared from.

_Tarrlok must be ripping his hair out,_ thought Lin. It would be up to Tenzin at this point, and the Avatar, if she could summon the courage. But Tenzin was a family man, that much was sure, and his first instinct would be retreat, for the sake of his race. It really was…up to that girl.

"What does the esteemed chief of police have to say to the city she has failed to protect?"

"This man is deceiving you! His poisonous morals have blinded you!"

"Interesting choice of words, Chief Beifong...though if I may rebuke you, to them, the lesser of two evils," he corrected, gesturing to the crowd.

Lin Beifong's gaze was resigned and proud, her heavy-lidded gaze staring through his followers as they gathered before the stage, staring at her indifferently.

_Did I really fail them?_

Amon pressed his finger to her forehead with a loving tenderness, looking down at her without pity.

"I'm leading the weak to ascent. Eventually you too will understand what it is to be weak, and to be led to ascent once more!"


	10. Ajna 3

A/n: hey guys. I'm sorry it's been so long. I was feeling really down and uninspired, and like I've been giving you bad chapters lately. That was an awful feeling. Fortunately, I think this one is a lot better, and I hope you all agree. And thanks to the people who reviewed lately, they really helped pull me out of my funk. shout out to yuugao and enno for making me write and watching me do it, and Mercy for being supportive as always. Her Amorra story "The Trophy Wife" is now up on , you guys should check it out! Now I'll shut up. On to the story. Which, by the way, is drawing to a close soon. SHIT'S GETTIN REAL.

* * *

"We need help," Korra overheard Pema urge Tenzin late one night.

"I know, but I can't do a thing about it with Tarrlok breathing down my throat. You know that."

"Our children, your very people are at risk of extinction because of his carelessness."

Her voice relayed the tears spilling over, and Korra knew Tenzin would break down eventually.

She was relying on it.

* * *

The next morning, he came back from the police headquarters muttering what sounded suspiciously like very un-air-monk-like swears. He caught Korra watching him and turned pepper red. Korra asked the same question she'd been asking for days.

"Did you call Iroh?"

"Yes, Korra, this time, actually, yes. However my call was cut off and redirected to Tarrlok, who says the council has voted against declaring a state of emergency, due to the mass hysteria it might cause. He had a 'feeling' I might 'try something' to 'undermine him.' That-"

"Hi daddy!" Ikki's voice interrupted, just as Korra was pretty sure he was going to say some choice words.

"Ikki, sweetheart," he said tiredly, bending over and hugging the girl. Korra pouted and turned around, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You know I can't do anything about it, Korra. If my calls are being monitored that means we're going to have to hold strong."

"That's-"

"Korra, you mustn't do anything rash. No matter what happens. Tomorrow I'll take you to the station to see what we can do about Mako and Tahno. I'm sure we can get a suspension on their sentence with the circumstances cooled off."

This assuaged Korra's worry for a little bit, and she allowed the subject of contacting the united forces slip for the time being.

* * *

The day after, true to his word, Tenzin took Korra to the station and argued with Chief Saikhan for a good ten minutes while Korra pouted behind him.

"You really suck!" Korra exclaimed, pointing at the policeman accusingly. "You know that?"

She stomped out of the room, followed immediately by Tenzin, who tried his best to keep her calm.

"I'm sure they can't hold them forever-"

"Are you going to just sit around and wait to find out? Great. That's just what this city needs right now, someone who's afraid to act."

"Korra-"

"I'm starting to see the face of the true terrorist of republic city, and if you won't deal with him, I will!

* * *

Tenzin tried to distract her for two days. Then he resigned that she was doing nothing wrong, just playing with the kids and practicing bending in the courtyard until late hours of the night (the white lotus guards never reported her even attempting to stray.)

The third night, he called them off.

The third night, Korra disappeared.

* * *

"Why are you here?" he asked, and she was surprised to hear the tiredness in his voice.

"I'm here because you're being a corrupt asshole and I'm not leaving until you free those innocent people!"

"..No."

"What is wrong with you?!"

"You know, you should really be working with me, not against me."

"You won't free my friends, you locked away innocent people like cattle...you wear a smug-ass smile all the time like it's a mask. How are you any different from Amon?"

"I'm different."

"Why? _Why_ should I trust you, should I 'work with' you to bring him down? As far as I can see, there's no difference! He might even have the right idea about how we treat nonbenders!"

She walked, she crossed through the waterfall to get to him, found herself frozen solid with only her face poking out, looking at Tarrlok's now enraged eyes inches from hers as they grew increasingly contorted with fury. Her lungs ached as her body crippled in its stillness, encased in ice. She puffed out her cheeks.

"The difference? I have self control. I have decency. And I'm saving this city without using lies to define my campaign."

Korra exhaled, fire melting and cracking the ice from her body, lunging forward from the water, but he was too fast, he had moved out of the way of the flames, wound torrents around her body, constricting her-

"And who are you, Avatar? Who are you to call me corrupt, when you abuse your status more than anyone? And yet, for all your power, when I look at you, all I see is a helpless child, and unlike Amon I would not take advantage of this fact. Go home, Avatar. Four elements and you are still pathetic to me."

The earth shattered beneath her as she felt her heart erupt into angry red flames, rippling from the bottom to unearth him, but he was already firing ice at her, which she stupidly blocked with her own fists until the pain was too much and she sheltered herself with a wall, rolling back into his office. He was sending a massive wave of water towards her, but she jumped forward, parted through it and lunged at him, fire burning and reaching for his throat.

He whirled around and the water wrapped him in a cocoon, her fists hit ice before she backed up in alarm, Tarrlok shattering the entire shelter into shrapnel which Korra narrowly avoided with her second earth wall.

Korra stepped back out, feigning tiredness, swaying slightly. Above Tarrlok's hand, a swirling puddle of water hovered as he debated how to deal with her, before she hit him with a sudden blast of air. He used the water to disrupt the airflow after skidding back a few paces, almost encased in the office falls. Korra had had it- she seized control of the giant stone wall his waterfall was dripping from, pulling it towards them and twisting it so the room started to collapse on top of him.

Tarrlok narrowly avoided being crushed, by both the wall and chunks of his ceiling, when she burst towards him in a bouquet of flames. He'd had it too, it was clear from his eyes, and she didn't care at that point- she'd finish the bastard, even if he had redeeming qualities, even if he thought what he was doing was right, no, she was the Avatar and Tarrlok was the bad guy, and the things he'd said and done were unforgivable.

* * *

Her body would not move.

Her flames vanished, her arms constricted, she bent her head awkwardly and cringed- her veins felt like they were swimming with needles. She groaned, she looked at him, watched the movements of his hands and it dawned on her- him- he was the source of the pain. He was bending _her_- a bloodbender, and the moon wasn't even full.

It made sense now. The sudden blackout, how he'd been able to escape the headquarters- a bloodbender the likes of which Katara had never warned her of. Her stomach churned- she was going to be sick from the pain of it, and he looked at her like she was a sad animal caught in a trap.

"If you stop struggling it'll hurt less."

Korra did not stop struggling. She struggled harder. She grit her teeth and screamed and he covered her mouth and jerked her head so she was looking up at him, vision growing hazy but expression nothing short of terrified.

"I am not Amon," Tarrlok said coldly. "I am nothing like him."

He twisted his hand and her eyes rolled back, blackness eating away at his face. He stopped supporting her and she fell to her side. Korra's body stung like she'd been flung into a spiked wall, and she made no move against him as he picked her up carefully.

"What are you doing?" she groaned quietly. "Put me down."

"Unfortunately, you just dug your own grave, Korra. Of course, I can't actually kill you; that would reflect very poorly on me, so you're going to have to disappear for a while."

* * *

The fifth day of equalist training was the day Bolin learned to walk fully on his new legs. He was tireless and determined, and Amon seemed to favor him, calling him an "prime example of equalist resilience and compassion."

The weird thing was, Bolin was aware that he'd been a bender and Amon his enemy a mere week ago, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to hate the guy. Probably because he'd spent hours spoonfed the finest propaganda the equalist party had to offer, but it had all been true, the stuff about benders hurting people...after all; that was what happened to his parents. Amon hadn't killed him, either, he'd saved him, taken him in and given him a chance at recovery, he had a friend in Asami, he had the knowledge that none of his friends would be hurt if they just surrendered peacefully and saw reason.

And he had the gaping hole in his heart where Mako had once been. Bolin still wasn't sure how he felt about that one. Sad, for sure, but the weirdest thing was, he couldn't even remember Mako's face when he tried to imagine him. They must have looked alike, he reasoned, but it wasn't like he had any photographs to remember him by. Still, it vexed him to a degree, that he'd forget his own brother's face after a week.

* * *

After Mako and Tahno confessed to not hating each other, they went back to mostly saying nothing, which was just fine with him- Tahno sat on his cot with his arms under his head and whistled while Mako attempted to carve a hole in the wall with a sharp rock. A noble endeavor, but quite useless.

"If Bolin were here, this wall would be gone in five seconds flat. I'm such an asshole. He always told me he was jealous of me, that I was the more 'talented' one. That I practically had to raise him. I don't think I ever told him how much he did for me."

"Well, when the Uhvatar gets us out of here, I'm sure we'll find your brother and you can tell him all that nauseating stuff you just told me," Tahno said, though it was in a lazy, teasing manner.

"Don't-"

"Oh come on-"

"He's probably dead-"

"Nah."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I just feel like...you know...we're the good guys. Good guys don't die."

"They do in most stories-"

"Well aren't you a bright ray of sunshine? I for one am the hero of my own story, and I'm not about to let a little jailtime get me down."

"What?"

"Think of it as meditation time."

"_What?"_

"I've been learning about that shit lately. You sit there and let your mind go blank and have important visions. Lifechanging stuff."

"I don't have time to just sit and think! I have to break us out of here!"

"Well, fine then flameo, you can dig at the wall with a rock while I contemplate my place in the universe. We'll see who gets out of here first," Tahno said, wondering when their dinner was coming- he was starving.

* * *

Korra was safely hidden away, where Tarrlok was quite sure no one would bother to look for her. After all, it was his private cabin, and after he fed them the story about the equalist attack and Korra's tragic kidnapping he was excused from the equation almost immediately. The police were practically under his control anyway, and he had the burn mark on his shoulder from the equalist gauntlet- who was to deny that?

It had stung quite a bit, too, but in a sick way, he felt like he deserved it for getting away with his plan. He truly hadn't meant for Korra to get caught up in this, even if he found her childish and meddlesome. She could not be let out until a variety of things were achieved, and some of those plans were still marinating right now, so it wasn't looking good for her freedom.

Korra was banging on the box and screeching at the top of her lungs. Tarrlok paced around the basement. She was company, at least. Obnoxious company, but a human voice.

"If you loved someone, and it turned out they had a disease that would kill them from the inside out in the most painful way, would you put them out of their misery, Avatar?" he mused.

Korra stopped screaming for a moment, panting on the other side of the metal prison.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she hissed.

"It's nothing, just thinking out loud I suppose."

* * *

Korra's absence had quite the averse affect on Tenzin. He became stubborn, refusing to show up to council meetings regarding her wherabouts, and ignored Tarrlok at all costs, even when he called the temple personally.

He wanted to blame it all on that man, but Tenzin knew that Tarrlok had saved Korra, had rescued her from the equalists, and his mind could not make sense of his own paranoia that somehow Tarrlok was behind this.

So he was back to square one- Tarrlok could not be trusted, Korra was gone, and Lin had been publicly debended and seen no more.

The saddest part, though, was that Naga, after spending the first night pacing and whining expectantly for her friend to come back, had run away, and no amount of calling for her would get her to return.

Tenzin made his next phonecall with shaking hands. He knew he had to be completely casual about the thing, because the police were probably listening in for certain words.

Of all the people he could think of, there was only one who could contact Iroh without an official request. And he hadn't spoken to him for years.

"Hello. Bumi?"

"Tenzin? Ha! What spiritual revelation compelled you to call me? Hey, how are the kids, Tenzin-"

Yes. Perfect.

"I'm a bit concerned about the oldest, Bumi, she seems to have gone missing."

"Kids run off a lot at that age, right, just look at me-"

"Who are you talking to?" an irritated female voice interrupted, and Tenzin shook his head, not wanting to know what he had just dialed in on.

"I'm concerned she was visited by a blue spirit."

"Shit, really?"

"There's been a Long Feng situation and we can't get in contact with the young dragon. I need you to tell him immediately- the wall has fallen."

"Can it wait, bro? I'm trying to get my Unagi in the river if you know what I mean-"

"Bumi-"

"Hey, hey, just kidding, you know I'm dead serious bro. It's about dad after all."

"For the last time, Bumi, she's not-"

"Hah, I'm foggy swampshitting you. I'll let him know you called, and you can let that Long Feng dude know we're going to pull an Azula on him if he doesn't shape up- firenation style! hell yeah!"

"For the last time, Bumi, you are not in any way shape or form from the firenation..."

"Hey, talk to you later, bro, the secret tunnel is calling for my badgermole-"

Tenzin hung up with a sigh, and could only hope his brother was sober enough to remember the conversation when he was done with his girl of the moment.

* * *

Bumi hung up with a grin and looked over at his companion.

"Hey, where are you going?" she said, wrapping her hands over her chest as he started to get dressed.

"Duty calls, baby," he said, brushing a hand through his wild hair. "Republic City needs its Bumi."

"You're stationed in Omashu, asshole."

* * *

The girl in the leather jacket stood in front of the glass window of the zeppelin hovering over the bay. She turned towards him, bright green eyes half-lidded and careless. For some reason she disturbed him, because before her brainwashing...

"You had a strong will," Amon said casually to the woman before him. "Something in this world made you hopeful and altruistic and made of sunshine no matter what happened to you."

"I understand the truth now," Asami Sato said with a resigned voice, at peace, smiling still. He knew she was unhappy but she could fake a smile, in front of her father, in front of other equalists, in front of crowds; Asami Sato would always smile because even before her brainwashing she'd been the same way- grin no matter how much it hurt.

"Do you want Korra to join us? Mako?"

"Only if they agree to the reconstruction," she said resolutely, a perfect, brainwashed answer, and Amon felt a little sick.

In a few days time...this would be how the Avatar behaved.

So this was to be his undoing. No matter how beautiful or intelligent or talented Asami Sato was, he was repulsed by her, because like Bolin, like the chief of police, like so many of his prisoners-turned-equalists, there was no fight left in her. She was boring. Predictable. So long as he monitored her closely, she would remain subordinate, because she was programmed to want to help the equalist cause at whatever cost.

And soon...

Soon Korra would be that way as well.

Undoubtedly he'd enjoy it at first, until he'd broken her completely, until the light faded from her eyes and she gave him the same stunningly blank smile as Asami, and spoke to him with reverence and assurance that everything he did was fucking_ golden_.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Actually, it was exactly what was supposed to happen, but there was something sickening about the entire concept, and he could hear it in his father's voice screaming at the back of his head-

_You weren't supposed to fall for her._

"I can infiltrate them," Asami said confidently. "It would be easy. I could bring councilman Tenzin and the Avatar right to you."

Amon swallowed. He allowed himself the luxury of grimacing behind his mask.

"Goodness, you're quite the tactician. I think it's time you were given a promotion, child."

* * *

Tenzin almost considered pulling a Bumi and breaking down the walls of the local prison with explosives and claiming it a 'social experiment.' Thankfully Bumi was not that crazy anymore, and Tenzin himself resigned to a huffy, dejected look when he was faced with Cheif Saikhan, who had not braved Amon's rally with the rest of his taskforce. The man was twiddling his fingers uselessly.

"Are you still going to tell me you can't let them out?" he said furiously, pointing at the man's chest. "You're going to keep two harmless boys locked up when their friend and a girl you rely on as savior has gone missing?'

"No," the Chief said sadly. "No, you're right. I can't do this anymore. I'm handing in my hat tomorrow. But before that, I'll let those kids out."

He gathered a set of keys from a drawer behind his desk and gestured for Tenzin to follow.

* * *

They walked down the hall of the prison, row after row of dejected nonbenders ignoring their presence.

"They were just given dinner," Saikhan said quietly. "They're having trouble feeding all these prisoners."

"I have no pity for a police system that has failed its people," Tenzin said stubbornly, not looking up until he was almost knocked over by a frantic young officer- actually, she was one of the waterbending taskforce members.

"There's been an escape!" she said meekly.

"W-who got out?" Saikhan said, fearing the worst- an equalist prison break, or full-out riot.

"Two boys in cell-block 15. When they were given food the one in the air acolyte clothes kicked the guard in the head and gave him a concussion."

"And you didn't catch them?"

"The prison is severely understaffed, sir. The one boy stole the guard's clothes and led the other out. Nobody noticed until they found the actual guard later."

Tenzin's hand clashed immediately with his bald forehead.

"Were their names Mako and Tahno by any chance?"

"Yes, in fact. Just like the famous probenders. Weird coincidence, I used to follow their teams-"

"Well, they got out," Saikhan said weakly, and Tenzin stormed off down the hall, cloak billowing furiously.

* * *

Time passed slowly in the box. Tarrlok came and went, careful about when he gave her food or addressed her, lest he bear with a facefull of flames of some sort. Korra sat and meditated, but she was too irritable to focus on any visions, and eventually, when she was quite sure she was alone, she started to cry.

Now of all times, after everything she had hoped for and promised people, she was going to vanish, just like the Avatar before her, and what then? Another hundred-year-war waged over her lousy absence?

"I'm sorry," she hiccupped, placing her head in her palms and feeling the tears run down her arms. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Her cries reduced to sniffles and she felt significantly better, until a deep voice broke the silence abruptly and shattered her glass blanket of assurance.

"This is my fault, Korra."

Constriction in her lungs. Korra plastered her back against the icy steel surface of the box.

"Go away," she growled. "Don't come near here."

"You shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you-"

"You shouldn't kidnap young girls when they find out your dirty laundry!"

Suddenly Tarrlok was chuckling. Korra waited for him to stop, wondering what was so funny.

He said nothing.

"What!?" Korra snapped, sensing the ironic glee in his presence, as though he was still laughing at an inside joke.

'You think this is the extent of my dirty laundry? Bloodbending? Dear Avatar, you'll probably thank me for this later. If not me it would have been him-"

"Stop," Korra said suddenly, and Tarrlok did, he felt himself compelled because the voice was strong, it was urgent, but it was brittle.

He remembered that she had just been sobbing for a good half an hour, and spared her of further mockery. She needn't have continued, but Korra's wrath had been awakened.

"He said the same things you say, you know," she whispered, chilling him to the bone with her sadness. "Right down to you being the awful one."

"What," Tarrlok hissed.

"If not me it would have been someone waiting in the shadows, like Tarrlok-"

"Stop."

"That disgusting Tarrlok-"

"Stop!"

This time, Korra was compelled by_ his_ plea. But she did not rest.

"What are you hiding?" Korra's voice squeaked dryly.

"That's my personal business, Avatar."

"You know my personal business," Korra said quietly. "You know things about me no one else knows. You're the last person..." Korra started crying again. "You're the last person I wanted to know, someone who'd use it against me, who'd hold me prisoner so I couldn't do what I knew was right..."

"Korra..."

"I'm...so...humiliated...I just wish I were dead-"

"Korra, please."

"Just start the cycle over with an Avatar who's not stupid and rash-"

"Korra, this isn't personal. Please...please believe me. What you've gotten into is bigger than anything you could have prepared for."

"You feel bad now? Why don't you let me out," Korra said, brightly, condescending, completely failing to cover the tears in her throat, and he pounded his fist on the outside of the box.

"You really want to know, Avatar?" he shouted.

"Try me," she hissed.

"My father was the crime boss Yakone, Korra. He was responsible for the formation of numerous triads, for most if not all of the bending-related deaths between then and now. He's responsible for my bloodbending, for the formation of the equalists, and for Amon. and that is why it is my responsibility to put an end to it."

Korra's mind lit up with visions of the man with the furious eyes- she was convinced, now, that's who she'd been catching glimpses of, Yakone, the crime boss, Yakone, Tarrlok's father...

"How is he responsible for Amon?" Korra said, annoyed, furious that her imprisonment was due to Tarrlok's delusional hero complex.

"Amon is not what you think he is."

"And what do I think Amon is-"

"Listen, Korra. Listen well. I'll tell you how Amon is my father's fault," Tarrlok said bitterly, and Korra's entire body relaxed, she leaned back in anticipation of his story, sorely unprepared for what she was about to hear.

"Your past life, Aang, removed my father's bending," Tarrlok started. As he said it, Korra could see Aang's face- peaceful, a bit awkward, kindhearted; he turned towards Toph, who punched his arm playfully, she heard his words, butchered by the echoes of time.

"In this, he was not wrong. My father was a dangerous criminal who deserved to be punished. He had used his bending to ruin many lives, and he paid the price."

Korra watched herself place her fingers upon Yakone's forehead and the crown of his head, life emanating from her eyes in an ethereal glow. Yakone screamed and thrashed and finally slumped over, spiritually exhausted, and Korra, no- Aang, backed away.

"The mistake your past self made was in sparing his life. If Yakone hadn't escaped..."

She saw Yakone's face one last time, smiling, before it faded from her vision.

"We wouldn't have been born."

'We?"

"My brother and I. Noatak. Once we were happy kids, but the second our recessive ability for waterbending surfaced, life became torture. A monster was awakened as a side of my father I had never seen before reared its ugly head. He was mean, he was spiteful, he had no tolerance for failure or ineptitude. My brother was a prodigy from a young age, and when it came time for us to learn bloodbending- first by night, then by day, he excelled in that as well. I was less talented, although talent did not spare my brother from our father's psychological abuse."

"That's...terrible," Korra exhaled softly, still reluctant to pity him despite her trembling hands.

"After killing countless animals to prove our skill, we were then told to bloodbend each other as the final test. I was only twelve. Noatak did so without hesitation, but I could tell he hated it as much as I did- we had, up until the past few months, been very close. It hurt, too. It hurt like nothing I'd ever felt before, and I knew in my mind I'd never want to do it myself, to see that look of helplessness that I'd felt on someone else's face."

Tarrlok sighed.

"Noatak was different. When it came time for me to bloodbend him back and I refused, our father- Yakone, told me I was weak. Told me I was worthless to him. He said so many terrible things until they all bled together, until my brother turned and seized control of his own father, told him he was the worthless one, bent him to his knees."

Korra felt a surge of emotion- admiration? well up inside of her. But that was wrong...Noatak had used bloodbending, twice, an illegal form of bending, he'd tolerated the look of helpless pain on his own father and brother...perhaps even relished it-

"He used to ask me, 'what would you do if I left?' And I'd always tell him 'I'll wait for you.' When he actually left, ran away in that snowstorm never to be seen again, I regretted staying with every fiber of my being. Noatak's death killed my parents- my father first, then my mother. It almost killed me too. I moved to Republic city when I was near your age, charmed my way to the top. I vowed I would undo all the wrongs my father had committed. Instead of hated, by the end of it i would be loved, even if i showed my true heritage. I would have been Republic City's Savior."

"What happened? How...? How did you lose sight of that?"

"My brother came back to haunt me," Tarrlok said, prepared for a continuation of the world's saddest story, but nothing came but a mighty thump and Korra's worried voice ringing out through the silent room.

"Tarrlok?"

* * *

Three missing kids on his hands, and true, none of them were his, but Tenzin felt responsible nonetheless. He knew they would be off looking for Korra, putting themselves in unnecessary danger, and Tenzin himself felt the burden of his father's expectations, as heavy as the statue of him that loomed over the bay. He could not afford to search for her at this point, with the need to stay close to his family, to protect the last airbenders on earth.

"I miss you, father. Please watch over Korra. Please bring her back from this unscarred."

Tenzin bowed before Aang's statue, and for a split second could swear he saw it smile.

* * *

Korra waited and waited, crouched low to the ground, for the box to open.

"Tarrlok?" she whispered again, heart starting to beat painfully. "Tarrlok?!"

The door flung open. Korra tossed fire in all directions with wild abandon, but he twisted around it and allowed the flames to lick at his back carelessly- for a man who claimed to have his features melted away by fire he always acted so casual when faced with it, Amon, Amon the nightmare, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back, pressing her face against the box again, cornering her inside of it.

"Let me go!" Korra shrieked. "I've had it with this! I've had it with you hurting people!"

His other hand, the one not forcing her arm back, covered her mouth. He stood like that for a while, just keeping her silent, and after a bit Korra's heartbeat started to slow, as though the immediate danger of the situation had vanished, even though he was right behind her still.

His hand left her mouth. He turned her around almost gently. She looked at him, baffled, the mask looking upset to her now for some reason, grimacing. She needed to stop projecting emotions onto it. Perhaps it really was all in his eyes, because they looked softer than usual.

"Go ahead," Korra compelled him. "That's why you came alone, right? Go ahead."

It was the fucking mask. She could see nothing of his doubts or fears, just the quiver of his eyes, the tiny moment of hesitation, and with a blast of air he was flying off his feet and out of the container, Korra looking around rapidly for the exit. She tried to pick up Tarrlok but his body was dead weight, she could only drag him a few spaces while Amon got to his feet and walked over to her again.

"Stop pussyfooting around! You're this close to getting what you want! Go ahead! Just do it!"

"You know nothing of what I want," he said, and what set her off was that hint of sadness, because the thought that Amon was capable of such a thing was terrifying.

Korra dropped Tarrlok's arm. She sunk to her knees; resigned, she put her head in her palms.

"You're horrible."

'I am," Amon agreed. "I am a horrible person who does a lot of good things."

"I'm...I'm a good person," Korra sobbed.

"who does a lot of horrible things."

"I never knew. If I had known all these things from the beginning, I never would have acted this way."

"There's still a great deal you don't know, Avatar."

"Do you intend for me to find everything out?" she said quietly. Amon bent down to her level, looked at her contemplatively. "Do you intend to keep torturing me until I give up? I won't. I can't. No matter how much I want to-"

Amon's hands wrapping around her throat cut her sentence short.

"Perhaps it would be best to end it now, right? It may be best for me as well, Avatar. I'm this close to having everything I've ever wanted in my grasp, and the only thing standing between me and a better world is _you_."

Korra thrashed, tried to breathe, forgot she was a bender and just struggled feebly against him until he let go, running his hand through her hair.

"I understand you, Amon," she whispered. "It doesn't have to be this way."

"Oh, but it does, Avatar," he said, taking a step back from her. "It's been this way since before you were born, and it's too late to stop it now."

* * *

Korra fled.

She bit her lip and ran, arms crossed over her chest, and compelled the wind to take her, ran faster than she'd ever run in her life, until she was stumbling down a slope, slipping, twisting, falling, the world wrapping its cold blanket across her bare shoulders as she rolled like a log until the slope ended.

Within a single day, she'd been bloodbent. She'd been locked in an ice-cold metal box, confessed her feelings to a man she hated, been set free, poked and prodded, caressed and choked, she'd confessed more stupid feelings to another man she hated, and was now so cold and tired that her body refused to move an inch. Numbness was settling in over her body. Amon did not come, and she almost cried, compelled him to come back for her, but her body was too tired for tears.

Something wet pressed itself to her forehead, wiped a snail-trail across her arm. It made a mournful whine. She opened her eyes to three black blobs- two eyes and a nose, which were plastered against the bleach-white landscape.

"Naga," she whispered, forcing herself to wrap her arms around the polarbeardog's neck.

* * *

_"Have you figured out the illusion yet?"_

_"The illusion..."_

_"It must be hard, in your day and time, to be spiritual. There's a lot expected of you, Avatar Korra."_

_"Aang? Am I-"_

_"You're not dead, no. But you came close."_

_"Is that why you're here?"_

_"It is why I am able to appear before you, but it is not the reason I came personally."_

_Korra could see him now, tall and gangly with a bearded smile and shining bald head. He pushed his hand towards her forehead, pressed his thumb to it gently._

_"The Avatar is expected from a young age to overcome the greatest illusion that vexes mankind- the illusion of separation, of the elements being divided or cut off from each individual."_

_"Why are we able to bend all the elements?" Korra murmured._

_"That is not a question I am fit to answer, Korra, but perhaps a better question would be- why can't everyone bend all the elements? Why can't some people bend at all?"_

_"You're confusing me," Korra said quietly, and Aang looked at her sadly._

_"You live in a time of diversity and acceptance. But one door opened and another often closes. Although benders of all types are respected and revered, nonbenders have fallen behind and been shunned from progress. You have met both benders and nonbenders who have abused their power. You know now that politics are a balancing act, and that extreme measures will not win out over compromise. _

_"I do," Korra said, scratching her temple restlessly. "But I still don't understand what the illusion is."_

_"I guess I can give you a hint, right?" Aang said brightly. "Ok, how about this. When you saw me take away Yakone's bending, what did I do?"_

_"You pressed your finger to his forehead."_

_"yep."_

_"And...the top of his head," Korra said, realization dawning on her._

_"Exactly."_

_"So what Amon's doing is just some sort of illusion? A trick of the mind?"_

_"The Ajna chakra is located in the middle of your forehead. It is blocked by illusion-"_

_"And unlocked by the truth! I do remember that! So then...how is he doing it?"_

_"That part I'm not sure, but it definitely has something to do with the location of the chakra. He is creating the illusion that a person is separated from their element. It doesn't work that way. To spiritbend you must also have control of their sahasrara chakra, their hold of reality and their place in the universe. Taking someone's bending is a last resort. It can destroy a person, because it is essentially ripping part of their spirit from their body."_

_"Aang?"_

_"Yes, Korra?"_

_"Why did you let him go?" she asked. "Why didn't you just kill him?"_

_"Part of me regrets that decision as well. I suppose that was weakness on my part. I am a pacifist. I thought that by taking his bending, I was taking his power. I was wrong. A person can abuse their power over another in more ways than just bending. But I'm soft. He was given a second chance."_

_"People like that don't deserve a second chance."_

_"Perhaps not. Forgiveness is often seen as weak in an Avatar. I have struggled with that myself. But don't forget that forgiveness can be a strength, a manner of growing past bitterness and finding peace."_

* * *

"Noga!" Tahno cried as the polarbeardog pushed her nose at his head and inhaled sharply, spewing mucus all over his hair as she exhaled and inhaled again. "The dumb mutt actually found her. What kind of dog _is_ this?"

"Shh!" Mako demanded, putting his hand on Korra's forehead. "She has hypothermia, Tahno. She needs to see Tenzin immediately."

Mako offered his hand to Tahno, pulled him into the saddle with him and Korra. Korra moaned loudly-

"Mako?"

and Tahno put his hands on her shoulders, shaking her.

"Korra- Korra, stay conscious-"

"Tahno," Mako warned. "Give her space, I'm warning you."

"Oh, ok, mr-cool-under-fire. I forgot you have dibs on all the women. Switch places with me, you can hold her hand and comfort her, I'll drive the oversized mammal."

"T-Tahno..." Korra whimpered.

To his surprise, Mako did so. And he looked genuinely upset, so Tahno sighed and awkwardly pat Naga's head.

"Go...uh...Narga," he said, once again forgetting the creature's name. He didn't exactly have a fondness for it, since his first encounter had been its teeth inches from his face while it roared at him. Naga started to run and Tahno clung to the reins awkwardly. He spared a glance back at Mako and Korra when he'd grown somewhat used to Naga's back- Mako was looking at her and holding her hand, and Tahno caught his words with a furrowed brow and a resolute glance forward. Maybe he'd misheard.

"I'm sorry for everything. I should have appreciated you more."

* * *

Korra's full recovery took three days. During those days, Mako would do everything he could to keep her comfortable, boiling her tea, getting her extra blankets, sitting across from her and talking to her. Tahno would visit her occasionally, but he spent most of his time sweeping leaves on the grounds or feeding the birds or practicing odd sword moves with some of the artifact weapons Tenzin had stored away.

They were really unusual boys, at least in Tenzin's opinion.

Almost immediately after waking up, Korra started demanding his attention, asking him for books about the chakras and spirits and all sorts of things she'd never taken interest in before. Much to his surprise, all three of them were really interested. Spirituality in the modern world was much a dying art, and seeing this generation listen with rapt attention to some of the stories they would have ignored in the past warmed his heart a bit.

"I still don't get what Tarrlok was trying to tell me," she confessed one evening. "I fail to see how Yakone was responsible for the creation of Amon, a nonbender who is fooling people with illusions that they can no longer bend."

"You said Aang told you this?"

Korra nodded. Tenzin sighed, looked out the window at the cottony snowfall.

"Perhaps it is not the illusion Amon creates, but the illusion of who Amon is, that we have to figure out."

"Perhaps...but then...was Tarrlok lying? I can't see him lying about any of the things he told me."

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Tenzin bristled a bit, and Korra looked up warily.

"Who could it be this time of night?"

"I don't know, Korra, but brace yourself for combat if necessary."

She did so, but when he cautiously opened the door to the cold, they were greeted by one of the last people he expected to see smiling on his doorstep.


	11. Ajna 4

warnings for this chapter: dubcon femdom. yeah you heard me aaaw yeah.

so uh...tell me what you think maybe? I love getting god reviows.

* * *

Asami looked a bit thinner than before, wrapped in a bomber jacket and shivering, her hair tied up elegantly. She seemed nervous and sad, and when Tenzin stood back and stammered, revealing her to Korra, Korra looked just as shocked as he did.

"Asami," she said quietly. Her face contorted into a look of childish misery, and she ran forward, embracing Asami gruffly. "Asami, how did you get out? How's Bolin, is he ok, is he…oh Spirits Asami did they do anything to you? I swear they better not have hurt you-"

"Korra-" Asami started, but Korra continued to blather, "I'm sorry I didn't protect you, I never wanted you to get into any of this-"

"Korra," Tenzin said patiently, as Korra shook Asami tearfully. "Let Asami speak."

She stopped, she let go of her friend and stared at her hopefully.

"Korra," she began again, "I'm OK. Listen…they tried to brainwash me. I think they might have…brainwashed Bolin too. I got away once they were convinced I was trustworthy. I couldn't think of anywhere else to go, I'm sorry."

"You can cry, Asami, it's ok," Korra said desperately, and Asami looked at her with a soft expression, as though Korra was the one she pitied right now.

"It's ok, Korra. I got all my crying out already."

"You did?"

Asami smiled at her. She wasn't wearing makeup anymore, Korra noticed, but she was still beautiful.

"I did."

Tenzin ushered them inside, away from the cold.

* * *

The next day, Asami was reintroduced to Mako and Tahno. Mako's first instinct was to hug her and apologize a thousand times, something Korra recalled him having done to her as well, but without the hug. She realized she wasn't even jealous at this point. Korra wanted Asami to be happy, and Asami looked happy- everyone looked about ten times happier with her back too, with the exception of Tahno, who was acting rather bitter.

"What is wrong with you?" Korra asked him during the afternoon, while he practiced his swordsmanship as usual. "Can't you be happy for her? She escaped a horrible equalist prison, Tahno!"

"That's exactly what I'm worried about," Tahno said resentfully, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his air-acolyte-in-training clothes. The other Acolytes were rather baffled by Tahno at this point, and mostly left him alone. He did most of his duties on top of his obsessive need to learn self-defense, so no one could really complain.

"So you're not going to trust her because of what she's been through?" Korra exclaimed. Tahno lunged forward, away from Korra and at some invisible enemy, and then slowly adjusted his position and repeated the process.

"That's exactly it," he said simply, and Korra groaned and left him balancing there, a frustrated look on his own face while she stormed off towards the main building.

"You're just jealous, Tahno, I swear!" she shouted behind her, not caring to look at his reaction.

Korra entered the hall where Mako usually could be found reading, overhead his voice and stopped just outside the doorway, not wanting to interrupt the conversation.

"You're sure he's ok?"

"I am, Mako. I saw him myself. He's…"

"He's what?!"

"He almost seems happy," Asami said, so quietly that Korra almost didn't catch it. "They've been taking care of him since his injury."

The sound of something knocking over- a teacup, perhaps, and Mako swore loudly.

"I'm sorry, Mako, I shouldn't have-"

"No. No, it's OK, Asami. I'm just glad he's alive, and not scared. You have no idea how much this means to me."

'I do," Asami said, and Korra felt bad for listening by this point. It had become too quiet for her to retreat, however, so she sucked in her breath and listened. "You guys are like a family to me. I've never had friends I felt so close to before you."

"Yeah," Mako agreed.

"I'm just glad I'm with you again, Mako."

"I'm glad I'm with you too, Asami."

* * *

Three days after Korra's return and Tarrlok's disappearance, the other Council Members were captured as well. Tenzin had managed to evade two separate abduction attempts before he finally made it back to the island with the news that the city was now officially in his hands. There was a prison break the fourth day, and nobody was left to stop it. Helpless, all Tenzin could do was make phonecalls and send White Lotus members to assist where they could, but more often than not they'd just go missing as well.

"But you have to leave!" Korra shouted. "Your family can't stay here anymore! It just isn't safe now!"

"And what of you, Korra? And the rest of the city? How can I just leave when it's my duty to-"

"Leave the city to us and Iroh. You called Bumi, right? He'll follow through. He always does-"

"I can't back down in the face of adversary just because my people are in danger, Korra-"

"Yes," she said quietly. "You can."

He blinked, face fading to its normal peachy tone after a few moments of thought. everyone else was silent, gathered around the room somberly. Pema was sniffling, trying not to lose herself to tears.

"When I yelled at you for not doing anything…I was wrong. I hope you can forgive me, Tenzin. but there's not much time. You have to protect the last airbenders on earth."

"I think you should go, too" Asami finally said, nodding in agreement. "There might not be much time before they target this island- and you. We can hold up the city in your leave, until the United Forces get here."

"Asami…" Mako said quietly, and she turned to him and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't be afraid, Mako. Korra's a strong Avatar. And I'm not so bad myself in a pinch! And Tahno's been training with his swords-"

"Leave me out of this," Tahno snapped, and Korra tried willfully to ignore him.

"Is that what you really think? That I should leave the city in your hands? But…but you're only kids, Korra-"

"Excuse me? How old was Aang when he saved the world?" Korra said cheekilly.

"Korra-"

"I'm not some half-baked Avatar ok? I can handle myself," she said, voice choking up, finally cracking from keeping cheerful so long. "I'm going to figure out this illusion- and break it. And when you come back, we'll rebuild everything together, ok?"

Tenzin hugged Korra tightly, then loosened up and pat her back awkwardly, looking down at her. Both of them were tearful.

"We'll leave in two days. You're a brave girl, Korra. But don't be afraid to show when you're scared."

"I won't, Tenzin. Thank you for everything."

* * *

Amon visited Tarrlok late the night the other council members were captured. He was kept unguarded, in a part of headquarters only Amon had access to- there was certainly no need for questions to be asked yet, and Tarrlok was in no state to answer questions anyway.

He looked distant, tired, out of it, like he'd done nothing but stare at the wall for days, and judging by the consistency of his position and his refusal to eat, it was pretty likely he _had_.

"I'm going to give you the chance to ask what needs to be asked," Amon said, arms crossed behind his back. Tarrlok moved his lips dryly.

"I have no questions for you," he said, his voice dull and cold, as though he were talking to a stranger.

"I'm sure you do. Don't tell me after all this time-"

"Don't talk to me like you know me," he said, as though every word killed him. He was so quiet when he spoke- Tarrlok had never been so quiet before.

"I've seen you for years. I've seen you try to move from our father's shadow and into the light. I've seen you get lost in your own darkness and biases. I've seen you struggle and fail to be happy. I watched you for so long, but could say nothing to you."

"You can now, I guess," Tarrlok whispered. "Captive audience and everything."

"I'm trying to reach you, Tarrlok!"

"After how many years of you being dead am I expected to still care about your ghost? I've wasted enough of my life mourning over you, for you to come back and ruin what little happiness you didn't already suck from my life when you left me there alone."

Amon- Noatak, no, no he was definitely Amon, he turned away as though it made a difference- Tarrlok couldn't see the rage on his face, but he could undoubtedly hear the menace in his voice.

"We have a second chance at happiness."

"There's no way I could ever be happy in your captivity, _Amon_. Besides, I believe showing the world our relation botches your 'humble little farmboy' story."

"As if you have a choice," the masked man hissed. Tarrlok's slumped-over posture straitened. He lifted his head. Amon started to laugh. "You'll be like the rest of them soon enough. You should know by now I don't take no for an answer."

"I've heard."

Amon turned towards him again. Tarrlok stared back hazilly. There was nothing accusatory or emotional about his expression. It was just a blank, hopeless, unloving look, and Amon realized for the first time what it felt like to fully lose a battle.

* * *

When Asami left her room the night of Tenzin's goodbye speech to Korra, it was not with the intention of speaking to Tahno. In fact, she had it in her mind to ignore him as long as possible, since he seemed intent on scowling at her wherever she went. It was 2:00 in the morning. He shouldn't have been outside of her room, and even when she saw him, Asami attempted to ignore him, until he was forced to speak out loud, deep voice echoing through the hallway.

"I know what you're doing, Sato."

Asami turned towards him. She sneered at him, noticing that his hair had that jaunty curl to it again, and that his nasty little smirk returned.

"Do you now?" she responded coolly, as though confused by whatever his allegations might be. Figuring she should play up his insecurities, Asami tilted her head and said "I'm sorry, if you think I'm trying to make you jealous with Mako, you're completely self-absorbed-"

"Shut up, Asami!"

Tahno pulled something from behind his back- a pair of swords she recognized as the ones he'd practiced with earlier, and brandished them at her with shaking arms.

"A little paranoid, aren't you?" Asami said, voice slightly nervous but still cool. "I think losing your bending made you a bit crazy…not that you weren't to begin with."

"You're a brainwashed little bitch, Asami, and I'm not going to let you turn it against me."

He pressed the blade up to her cheek, catching a bit of her hair with it.

"Oh no! You found me out!" Asami said in mock surprise. "How are you going to prove it? You're the outsider here, Tahno. _They don't like you._"

Tahno's face became pained- it was evident she had hit a nerve, but he did not back down.

"Are you going to hurt me, Tahno?" Asami asked sweetly. "Go ahead."

Tahno was pissed as hell, the blade threatening to draw blood as his grip shook.

"No," he whispered. "I hurt you enough already."

"Then what's this half-assed threat? Are you trying to impress me?"

He clenched his teeth, refused to look at her. Asami moved past his blade, pushing it away gingerly, knowing he wouldn't injure her.

"That's what it always goes back to with guys like you, right? Just looking to get laid. You don't care if I'm brainwashed, Tahno." She slid up close to him, so he was backed against the wall, her unstained lips pressed close to his exposed ear. "You want me."

"They really did a headjob on you, Sato-"

"It's the truth though, isn't it?"

"Like I can't do better than a brainwashed equalist bitch-"

"Maybe you can't…at least not with your usual crowd," Asami said dangerously, with a hint of playfulness creeping into her tone. "Maybe if you joined the equalists, you could be appreciated for what you truly are, not what you used to be patted on the ass for."

As she spoke, Asami slid her hand behind his back, across the fabric of his pants. She felt his body tense against hers.

"What are you so afraid of, Tahno? If I recall, you used to love to play rough…I thought that's the type of guy you were?"

"Don't-"

"I won't if you don't want me to. But you have to explain to me why there's a bulge in your pants," she whispered.

"What-"

"You're half aroused by this? You're crazier than I thought."

"You're the crazy one," he muttered as she moved her hand around to the front. He glared and she smiled huge, until he eased his eyebrows and gave her a resigned shrug of the shoulders as she groped him through the fabric.

"What. What was that for?" she snapped irritably.

"OK, go ahead, then."

"What?"

"Yeah, you heard me. You got me hard. You gonna leave it like this, or are you going to do something about it?"

"If that's what it takes to shut you up…"

"Who knows? Maybe it will, maybe it won't."

"I'll take the risk," Asami retorted, pulling the collar of his shirt towards her. The entire time he kept his grip on his weapons, as though afraid to give her the chance to attack, but his face remained smug and impassive. "My room is right here, which you apparently knew, so if you'd like to carry on, I suggest you ditch the swords."

He continued to look amused and unafraid, but he was obviously clinging to his perceived 'upper hand.' then, very slowly, his smile grew wider and he lowered the weapons and his body, so that they were resting against the wall, and drew himself back to his full height. He held his arms out and wiggled his hands, still looking at her like a happy psychopath.

"There. Helpless. Unarmed."

"Good." Asami let go of him none-too-gently, and beckoned for him to follow her into the darkness of her bedroom. He flicked the switch to the desk lamp upon entering. She doubled back, flicking the switch back down, hand over-top of his and eyes half-lidded.

"No need for light," she said sweetly.

"I see, your type are used to operating in the dark."

"I don't need too see your face when you come, I've already seen it, it's not cute."

"Oh, fuck you."

"You don't have that privilege tonight," Asami whispered, trailing her hand across his cheek. She brought her hand down to his chin, tracing his chest through his clothes lightly before pushing him backwards, so he sat on her bed, looking at her moodily. "Strip," she told him, and he started to pull his shirt and coverings over his head, the cotton material stuck to his body- he must not have noticed how much he'd perspired. Asami put a cold hand on his chest as he was still working with his shirt, moving her head forward so her lips were grazing his bare skin and he inhaled sharply, pausing. The pause was just long enough- she twisted the material behind his back and disabled his arms as he attempted to unwind them. His look was anything but arrogant now, hair a mess in front of his wild blue eyes.

"Be good, and maybe you'll get something out of this before I ship you off to be equalized."

"As if!"

"Don't be petulant, Tahno. You miss me, don't you?"

"Even if I did, you aren't Asami-"

"Maybe you fell for someone else, is that it?"

Tahno gritted his teeth as she brought her lips close to his, knee pressed to his crotch so he couldn't even move forward.

"I don't think she loves you back," Asami whispered mischievously, walking her fingers across his chest as she moved her mouth across his bare neck. "How ironic, you of all people falling in love, and with her…join like queue buddy, though, really?"

"Asami," Tahno groaned. Her leg was digging into his groin agonizingly. "Wake up Asami."

"There's nothing to wake up from, Tahno. The life I lived before was the dream- this is the reality."

Her left hand slipped into his pants while the right lifted his chin so he was looking directly into her eyes. He was still defiant, even though he had all but lost. She started to move her hand and he looked away in shame.

"You changed a lot," Asami said brightly. "I feel like under other circumstances I might like this new you. You just need to see the truth."

"I'm going to lose my boner if you keep talking propaganda to me, Sato."

"I doubt it…at the rate you're going now-"

"Stop talking," Tahno groaned, throwing his head back.

Asami pressed her one hand against his chest harder, pushing him onto his back. Her other hand wrapped firmly around his length and she moved onto her side, so she could talk to him more- obviously that was what was getting him off, even if he hated to admit it. She'd always pegged him for the masochistic type, no matter what a conniving asshole he liked to believe he was.

As she lay next to him, Asami pulled his face closer to hers, lost the distance between their lips. It was in no manner romantic, though passionate could be technically used- he didn't attempt to bite or push her away, kissed back, even, having to pull back and whimper a bit when she squeezed him too hard.

"Poor Tahno," Asami said, twisting a lock of his hair behind his ear as she jerked him off casually. "You feel like you have nothing to look forward to, is that it? There are rewards that come with being an equalist…"

"I don't need your shitty rewards," he groaned, and Asami stopped moving her hand, waiting for his eyes to shoot open in desperate humiliation. She sat up again.

"I was going to finish you off before I knocked you out, but you're so insistent on being stubborn-"

"Asami!" Tahno growled, thrashing back and fourth on her bed. She put her unoccupied hand over his mouth.

"If you were an equalist this wouldn't have happened, you know. You'd be able to defend yourself."

He stopped moving. His expression was distant and resigned, roaring with indignation behind the submission. She pulled her hand away slowly.

"That's better," Asami said affectionately. She moved her other hand back to his aching length and stroked him gently, until he bit his lower lip and held his breath as long as possible, her hand coming away sticky and wet.

"Well that was fun," Asami said deviously, and his look of shame quickly washed over with horror as she pulled her hand back, two fingers braced like a snake ready to strike, and the next thing he must have known was pain and then darkness, Asami wiping her hand on his pants and scoffing.

"Now I have to erase you. Perfect. Well you did put a small dent in my plans, Tahno, I hope you're happy."

Unconscious, Tahno said nothing in return.

* * *

They searched the grounds for him the next day, but needn't have. The note he left was, in Korra's furious opinion, enough to say it all- _don't look, you won't find me_.

Was she furious though? Or was that burning behind her eyes sadness?

Hey Korra

Listen, I wanted to tell you in person but I chickened out. I'm in over my head, and I feel so weak and helpless without my bending. I know I'm a burden to you and Tenzin. I don't feel like I belong here, and I'm losing my nerve.

I'm not exactly sure what I'll do, or where I go. But thank you for the time we spent together. I hope you don't hate me too much.

I guess you would call this the 'easy way out.' It is. Don't think I've changed so much from when you first met me. Like I said I hope you don't hate me, but you probably should anyway. Taking the easy way out is just what I do. I wish there was a way to cheat at things like life and friendship too, so I could figure out how to stay with you guys through all this. Like I said this is just too much for me. sorry. I'm sorry.

-**Tahno**

"Listen, Mako. He didn't say that he killed himself-"

"He did, though, Asami. It's pretty much there in plain words."

"He just said it was 'too much,' not that he wanted to die-"

"You don't get it, Asami. I talked to Tahno. He's not like that. He's pretty down-to-earth when you get to know him…I was locked in a cell with him for days. He wouldn't have just run away. If…if Tahno really thought it was too much…he could be so morose sometimes…I feel like shit for not noticing…I feel the same sometimes, even, like I never asked for all this…like it's too much to bear-"

"Mako, please-"

"Mako, you're nothing like Tahno, ok? No matter what, you wouldn't give up on your brother, or your friends. You have someone to live for and watch out for-"

"What if he doesn't need me?"

"Of course he needs you, Mako, we all need you-" Korra tried to interupt, but Mako continued, putting his head in his hands and talking in a low, emotionless voice.

"This world suddenly without bending, where people you love and care for get hurt…how can you blame him for wanting to get out while he still could?"

"Mako…if you want to leave now, you can. Nobody would blame you-"

"Of course I don't want to leave, Asami. I…I'm sorry for being so irrational about it, I just…I didn't see it coming, and now I feel like I should have. I know how he felt, Asami, I really do."

Mako seemed to be struggling to keep composure. Asami was doing marvelously, which almost upset Korra a little bit…hadn't Asami and Tahno even dated for a bit? Did she really have no feelings about this?

"I think all nonbenders know how that feels at some point, Mako," Asami whispered. "Feeling helpless, or scared. It's not a new feeling to me. Hopefully we can do something to change that."

Korra found herself agreeing with her sentiment, but not her tone.

* * *

When Tahno woke up, he was strapped to a chair in an eerie room with a projector. The weirdest thing was, it was dead silent, and unoccupied save for a boy a few years his junior, tall and oddly put together, who stood there watching the screen nonchalantly.

"Who are you?" he asked the guy in front of him.

"I'm you," he said cooly. "You in a past life."

The way he echoed, the familiarity of his prescence- Tahno didn't doubt it.

"Pretty spiffy. You don't look much like me."

"I'm from the earth kingdom," he said, chewing on an odd straw sticking from his lips.

"And the time before hairbrushes were invented apparently. What's with that grass in your mouth?"

"Don't know. Habit I guess. Reminds me of the earth, plants, what it's like to feel safe. Grounded."

"That's pretty deep past me. So what are you doing here?"

"I've been calling out to you," he said, very gravely, almost like he was annoyed that Tahno didn't get the message sooner.

"Yeah, I noticed. I assume you're the firebender hater?"

"Firebenders killed my family."

"That seems to be a theme with firebenders. Never hear about waterbenders killing anyone-"

"Actually, if you look at the screen presented to you, you will find historical photographs captured demonstrating the power and corruption potential of waterbenders."

For the first time, Tahno looked at the screen and its contents. He nearly puked. Someone had just been choked to death with their own blood. The caption read "Pao Jeong- Red Monsoon attack on 45th street."

"W-why would you want me to see that! Augh! I thought you were here to protect me or something?"

"Protect you? nah. You don't need shit like that. You can make your own decisions. That's why I'm here. To make sure you make your own decisions."

Tahno continued to watch the things on the screen, taking it all in with horror and fascination.

"So they're trying to brainwash me."

"Bingo."

"But why me? Why am I able to resist when Asami couldn't? I'm not really that strong willed, you know-"

"You were already brainwashed once. It led to our death in a past life, and it wasn't to a firebender- one of my own, an earthbender killed me. At that moment I understood that corruption comes from power of any sort. Once a person holds power over another person, it is their decision what they do with that power- do they use it for good, or abuse it? Too many will take the latter option."

"What's your name, other me?"

"Jet, I guess. But even then, that I am separated from our past and future lives is an illusion.

"What?"

"I suppose I have to start small with you. You are me, after all. I wasn't much of a critical thinker myself, in my lifetime. Let's start with this. Anyone can abuse bending. This is a fact.

"So if benders abuse their power, maybe it's true. Maybe the equalists are right."

"At this rate I might as well just let you get brainwashed," Jet said, becoming annoyed.

"Huh?"

"Think more critically than that, asshole. There doesn't always have to be an extreme. Compromise can be reached. "

Tahno looked at the images on screen. He remembered the night Amon pressed his thumb to his forehead, the sheer terror he felt inside as he was dumped over the edge of the arena.

helpless.

"Hey, Jet?"

"Yeah?"

"You were nonbending, right?"

"Yep."

More gore onscreen, then some meaningless images of equalists doing meaningless things.

"How did you find power?"

"Through my personal voice."

"When did you feel the most helpless?"

Jet's brow furrowed, shadows building around his eyes.

"When I lost my personal voice."

He turned to Tahno and pointed at him.

"That's why you can never, ever let yourself be silenced. They can take everything from you, but they can't take your mind."

Tahno stared at Jet, taking in everything about his face and mismash of clothing.

"I can't stay with you much longer- the amount of energy it expends to speak to your spirit is taxing on the body and mind."

'Why can't we do this all the time?'

"Because a the strength of a person's soul is measured in the karma they accumulate in their lifetime. I lived a short, turbulent life before you, and did a lot of good and bad things- this has given me a great deal of spiritual energy, good and bad. Likewise the capacity to do both good and bad lie within you. You are me, reborn, but with a clean slate. Already you have made many of the same bad decisions, but hopefully you will save yourself before the cycle repeats itself."

"How do you know all this? If you're just me? What are we some kind of Avatar?"

"'Just you.' That we are separate, that the avatar's soul is any different from a normal human..that is the illusion the living are still under, and unfortunately I do not have what it takes to break it. Good luck, Tahno."

"Hey!"

Jey gave a cocky grin and turned, body flickering away like a slide on the screen. The second his presence was gone, Amon's voice was there instead.

"You are impure."

No.

"You are lost."

No.

"You will take your place among our ranks."

Please, no.

Tahno thrashed, the images and voice no longer a buzzing annoyance but full-blown agony.

It went on for hours, maybe even days, who really knew, Tahno had no concept of time in that hellhole they called the room of Spiritual Reconstruction.

* * *

Bolin's legs were heavy, but he quickly learned the advantages.

He learned that if he kicked hard enough, he could still crack the earth with his feet. He learned that there were certain places with switches that would cause blades to flick out, and that having extremities that were largely impervious to pain could turn the tides in a fight. He had his memories of probending, too, and built this new style largely based off evasive maneuvers in the ring.

And he had Amon's encouragement.

"Thank you for coming to train with me today, Amon sir," Bolin said politely. Truthfully, there was still an innate part of him that found Amon scary as fuck, but he knew the equalist party was right and therefor Amon was right, so after a while even the mask didn't make him as nervous as usual.

"It's always encouraging to see a new recruit put so much into training."

"I don't want to be a burden, sir. I always felt like I _was_ on my brother. I've always been the weakest link in our team."

"I am a firm believer that there should be no weak or strong links in team. Everyone should be equal."

"Yes, Amon."

"Sometimes that requires bringing a strong person to their knees, do you agree, Bolin?"

"Yes, sir."

"Your brother is dead now, so you don't have to feel like a burden to him anymore. That's a good thing."

"I suppose…" Bolin didn't even look reluctant, just ponderous. He was thinking about it then, the cogs of his brain turning over the question- _who is Mako? Who is my brother?_

"I don't think of you as a burden, Bolin."

Bolin's eyes were suddenly filled with a new light. He tried his best to smile, faltering a bit in the presence of Amon's gaze, but quickly recovering.

"That means a lot to me," Bolin whispered.

"And I as well," Amon returned, voice as unreadable as always.

* * *

"Do you really think he didn't change?' Korra whispered. They stood in the courtyard where Tahno had practiced every evening, Korra gazing at the bay with a nondescript stare. The wind tore at the jacket she wore- the fancy one Asami had bought her weeks ago, it was sleeveless and slightly oversized, the loose clasps in the front hewn from bone- way trendier than the one she'd been wearing, but for some reason it didn't feel right. Asami didn't even say anything about the coat, which made Korra feel angry, and she didn't say anything about Tahno at first either, and that made her even angrier.

"I don't know what to tell you, Korra. Maybe he did. The Tahno I knew was a charmer. I never knew when he was being honest with me."

Korra turned her gaze to Asami, who was staring impassively at the statue of Aang in the distance.

"Aren't you scared, Asami?"

"No. I'm sure everything will work itself out."

She was so stone-cold, so calm. The Asami Korra had met, if only briefly, had been a warm girl. She wasn't afraid to confess her weakness, nor proclaim her strength. Who was this person who stood beside her? What drove her, what motivated her?

"Tenzin is leaving tonight. After that, Mako is taking us somewhere Amon doesn't know of. You can…you can leave after that, you know. You don't have to stay with us."

"Listen to you, so frightened."

"Asami-"

"If I were you I would have given up."

_No, Asami. No you wouldn't have. This isn't adding up._

"Maybe we don't really have a chance after all," Asami whispered, and Korra's eyes widened in shock. "Maybe we should just-"

"Enough!" Korra shouted. Asami turned to her, smiling with just a pinch of nervousness. Korra had raised her hand as though to slap her, but held herself back.

"What's wrong, Korra?"

"What have you done to Asami!?" Korra cried, grabbing the girl by the front of her jacket. "What have you done to _Tahno_?!"

"Korra…" Asami whispered, expression hurt. "Korra, what-"

"I don't want to believe you're lying, Asami. I don't want to believe you betrayed me. But even if you did…it's ok, Asami. It's ok, I can protect you from them-"

"No" Asami shouted, pushing Korra away as she tried to pull herself together. Her thin eyebrows were knitted together in frustration. "I don't want to hear it!"

"Please, Asami-"

"No!" Asami roared, lashing her fist for Korra's neck, narrowly avoided as the other girl ducked to the side. "I know what's right for once! Don't make me look back!"

'it's ok, Asami-"

"It's not ok," Asami said, bringing her leg up in a strong kick that could have knocked the breath out of her if Korra hadn't blocked it."You weren't supposed to figure this out! This could have gone so painlessly for both of us-"

Korra ducked from another one of Asami's punches, twisting around her back and blocking a series of blows with her forearm."

"Go on, Korra. Bend. Protect yourself."

"You sound like your father!"

"So? So what if I do!? He's a good man, who protects the innocent. And who are you, Korra?" she growled, this time her punch hitting Korra square in the chest. Korra doubled over and coughed. Asami kicked her all the way to her side, where she twitched in pain.

"You can't even protect yourself. If you would just come peacefully it wouldn't be like this. Tahno was stubborn too! I know you're smarter than that, Korra, that you understand the suffering nonbenders face day to day. don't you think a world without bending would be better-"

"No!" Korra roared, rolling over and trying to knock Asami off balance. "A world without bending changes everything, Asami! What about the sports you used to love? The diversity of cultures, and the history and spirituality involved in bending? Why would you want that to go away?"

"We will build a new culture, Korra- the old one is in serious need of a rehaul."

Asami jumped over her neatly, digging her heel into Korra's back. "Give up already!" she demanded.

Korra groaned and crawled to her knees. Asami grabbed her hair and punched her in the cheek once, the eye second. Korra took it without fighting back, but she continued to try getting to her feet, no matter how much Asami hit her.

"Are you listening to me? Stay down! don't fight back!" Asami said, and Korra looked up at her, face swollen and stinging, one eye half shut.

"I know they hurt you Asami…I'm so sorry-"

"I don't want you to be sorry! I want you to be safe! I want you to be the same as anyone else! I want this fighting to end!"

"People are getting hurt, Asami."

"People were getting hurt before, Korra, and nobody noticed until it was benders."

"I know, Asami! I know, it's fucked up, it really is, and it's wrong! But the equalists are not right. Amon's a liar-"

"Shut up, Korra-"

"What he's doing isn't even energybending-"

"I'm warning you-"

Korra stumbled to her feet, bleeding from the mouth. She spat pink-tinted saliva onto the stone surface of the courtyard.

"Asami, I'm not going to let you stay this way, I promise! I'll fight you all night, I'll let you beat me to a pulp if you have to-"

"How responsible. How noble. You chose me over saving Tenzin's family."

Korra looked like she was going to be hadn't even occurred to her yet, and from Asami's expression she could tell it was probably too late already.

"Asami…"

"Really, you think I didn't think this through? Tahno almost caught me making the call. That's why I had to get rid of him too-"

"Stop it, Asami. What happened to you?" Korra whispered, wiping her mouth on her forearm. "This isn't you at all. I…I don't know what they did, but I promise we're going to bring you back-"

"Would you really want me back, Korra? Knowing how broken I am by your standards…how could things ever be the same?" Asami said, just as quiet, as grave.

"Asami…Please…I can't lose you too."

'You won't lose me. You'll be with me, together, as my equal. What could be better than that?" she said, the excitement returning to her face. "Oh, Korra, that's all I want for you. For you to be safe and happy."

Korra looked convinced for a second, and Asami took her hands, trying to raise her up with her own half-moon smile.

Korra closed her eyes, resigning to the feeling of her friend's comforting grip, before her eyes became focused and brows furrowed. She blew a strong gust of air strait for her, knocking Asami Sato away like a twig. Korra knew that now was not the time to hesitate- she had to save Tenzin, after all.

Asami twisted to the side, shielding herself from the majority of the blast with a defensive pose and ran towards Korra ,winding into what Korra recognized as a chi-blocking position. Korra knocked her fist away and grabbed her arm with two hands, swinging her outwards with a giant sweep of brute strength, but Asami braced her feet and lunged forward, barely affected by a toss that had disabled men twice her size. Another blast of air that only served to make Asami's hair whip wildly. Korra dodged her every attack, trying to think of how to disable her without hurting her. The dilemma was so familiar that Korra resorted to the exactly same technique- halfassed airbending to blow her a few paces back, a fragile distance which Asami would inevitably bridge again.

"Come on Asami! Wake up!"

"You people keep saying that like this is some spell you can undo with an incantation and some friendship. This is not a delusion I can just snap out of. This is my reality. You're the one who's dreaming!"

Asami's hands were lightning fast, they aimed to hit every corner of her body, but Korra blocked her out, inhaled with a sharp intake of air and spun, winding circles around the confused Asami, who could not predict her chaotic path.

Asami became irritated, easier to hit. Still turning circles around her like a leaf caught in the wind's clutches, Korra started to bend- melted the snow around the courtyard first, then forced it to creep up the other girl's legs. Finally she paused in her frantic dance, blew a gust of cold air that froze Asami's feet to the ground. Asami wiggled uselessly, caught in place, and Korra started to backtrack.

"I'm coming back for you," Korra said urgently, turning away. She started to run, but Asami's cry stopped her short.

"Korra!"

Korra did nothing, just swallowed the huge lump in her throat and stopped. The next words were weak.

"You promise?"

Korra smiled. "I promise. We'll get you out of this."

"It may be too late."

"Well then we'll be equal together, right? But I'm not giving up on my beliefs just yet."

Her sentence was punctured by a slight ripple in the air- Korra moved to the side just as a cable went spinning past her, aimed for her unsuspecting legs. The equalist that had thrown the cable leaped towards her like a terrifying frog, and Korra almost didn't notice the other stationed behind her, ready to intercept.

Something like bones breaking brought her back to reality. Korra was out of the way just in time for Mako to throw himself forward. He'd kicked whoever it was clean in the jaw, and it was not looking good for whoever was under that mask. Mako hit the equalist again and again, as though his blows were the flames he longed to control. He was fighting so recklessly that he managed to overpower both, Korra aiding him by freezing their feet as well, so that there now appeared to be a collection of live equalist statues wriggling on the patio.

"What happened to you?" Mako said in a panicky voice, grabbing her shoulders, and Korra remembered with the stinging return of pain and vanishing of adrenaline that Asami had beat the ever-loving _t_ar out of her.

"Who did this to you? Why is Asami restrained?"

"S-she's brainwashed, Mako. I couldn't hurt her. I couldn't," Korra said, finally breaking down and crying. Mako pulled her close and hugged her, awkward and abrupt, then looked at her seriously in the eyes.

"Listen, we need to get off the island."

"Tenzin and the kids-"

"We'll grab them now. We'll figure out a way to get everyone away safe. We'll tie up Asami if we have to-"

"You have the most altruistic friends, Avatar. It's almost sad to watch you struggle with your beliefs when confronted by reality- like a child no longer believing in myths."

Korra's entire body tensed. She turned towards the source of Amon's voice, and Mako turned too, both of them horrified to find him accompanied not only by his Lieutenant, but Ikki and Jinnora.

"You're sick!" Mako growled. "There's something wrong with you-"

"The concept of right and wrong means little to me."

'"Especially in the instance of a child who refuses to play fair himself," Korra said, and there was a strange gust of air that seemed meager in place of the words that couldn't be spoken.

"Come with us and the children won't be hurt," he assured her, remembering his purpose. Korra gulped, she took a step forward. Mako grabbed Korra's arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"What is that going to solve?" Mako asked her. Korra jerked her arm but he remained strong in his grip.

"We can't let him hurt them-"

"You think he won't hurt them just because we surrender? You think he won't hurt _us_?"

Korra stepped back, she looked desperately at Ikki and Jinnora. The older sister looked strait at her- there was not a bit of trepidation or fear in her eyes. It was resigned acceptance. Ikki looked frightened and worried, and kept shaking her head, as it to tell Korra to leave them.

"The 'fabulous' Cool-Under-Fire Mako. I've watched a few of your matches before, boy- not out of personal enjoyment…_obligation_, mostly, curiosity…what was it about you that captured Republic City's attention so well? And then I realized I was being silly. It's your story, kid. So _similar_ to my own. Of course, I didn't have the other half of my duo, my brother- I had lost him at a young age, in the same tragedy that took my parents."

_Noatak's death killed my parents- my father first, then my mother. It almost killed me too. _

Korra felt her throat constrict. There was his name on the back of her tongue, a name she had never said aloud, but a million fears held her back and forbid her to speak.

_My brother came back to haunt me_, he'd said. Tarrlok's brother- a prodigy waterbender, a skilled bloodbender, a child that had seen the pain and humiliation bending could inflict, the misery it could bring into an otherwise happy life.

Korra closed her eyes. She envisioned herself stopping it then. Amon's form melted away and became hers, they stepped forward and placed a thumb upon each other's foreheads.

her own voice spoke, melded with a thousand others.

H_e's bloodbending. He causes a block in your Ajna chakra that causes you to fall under the illusion of lost bending. Nothing he's doing is spiritual and…nothing he's doing is irreversible._

The two forms melded together again. Korra became a giant, a radiant being of light and pure cosmic energy, a spirit that glowed a color beyond violet. She stood there, witnessing herself in that godlike state, cringed away from its very power.

_This…this is me._

_If I let go of myself, of my friends, then this is what I can be._

Mako was pulling her back. Korra reached her hand forward, as though to grasp _something _tangible. Amon's hand, his shirt, even his mask, as if she could tear it from his face- something to ground her to reality, to keep her with the people she loved. Then she slowly drew it back, reality settling in like whiplash.

She could absolutely not surrender.

There was still a chance to right things without that.

"No," Korra whispered.

"You'd abandon these children?" Amon said coldly.

"Never," she retorted. 'And that's precisely why I won't let you win."

'It sounds like cowardice to me."

He was striking below the belt. Then she would as well. Let him understand the fear she felt in his presence whenever he thought about her-

"Only a hypocrite would hurt a child when his own background pleads the same case. Perhaps Amon believes the end justifies the means, but what does Noatak think?"

He froze, said nothing, his eyes shrinking and body tensing. Lieutenant watched her furiously, tightening his grip on Ikki, who gave a muffled cry.

"I believe in your good heart, Amon," Korra whispered. "But I will not let you commit evil in the ground of good intentions."

"What is she talking about?" the Lieutenant grumbled irritably.

"Will you give me the chance to fight back?"

"Stupid girl-"

"Let them run," Amon said finally, watching them prepare to do so. The Lieutenant stood stiffly, looking at Amon like he just might be an alien behind the mask.

"Sir?"

"Don't question me. We're retreating without the Avatar."

* * *

Out over the bay, the sound of explosions signaled the arrival of the United Forces. Korra held Mako's hand and together they plunged into the water, the waves parting to envelop them at Korra's command.


End file.
